Knoxville, Tenn. – October 07, 2026 -- The Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has launched the Institute for the Future of Business, a new initiative designed to align business education with industry needs as AI and other emerging technologies reshape corporate operations.
Institute emerges alongside college's inaugural AInnovation Summit
The institute was created alongside Haslam's first AInnovation Summit, a two-day collaboration event focused on the business ramifications of AI. Unlike the summit, the institute establishes an ongoing structure for collaboration between corporate leaders, researchers, educators and students, according to Haslam Dean Stephen L. Mangum.
"While AI was the catalyst, the Institute for the Future of Business is not centered on a single technology," Mangum said, noting the mission is to pair technological knowledge with human skills such as creative problem solving and ethical decision-making as business models and workforce expectations shift.
Four stakeholder groups will drive applied research and industry projects
The institute will serve business leaders making investment and workforce-readiness decisions, researchers connecting emerging challenges to new scholarship, students gaining hands-on experience on real-world problems before graduation, and educators examining how technology shifts should inform business curricula.
Students will participate in industry-based projects, while partner businesses gain access to Haslam's thought leadership and talent pool. The institute operates separately from AI Tennessee, the university's interdisciplinary AI research group, but complements broader university and state efforts to lead in AI and emerging technologies.
Industry partners will convert real challenges into classroom projects
Lindsay Mahony, Haslam's assistant dean for entrepreneurship and strategic initiatives, said the institute is built for action rather than discussion alone. Industry partners will bring actual business challenges to Haslam, which will become research questions, classroom projects and new collaboration opportunities, building on existing industry-based learning models to connect business leaders directly with faculty experts and students.