Our MSc International Business students have taken innovation to the next level by creating powerful music videos using generative AI, designed to promote social sustainability and engage communities. With the advent of AI, our business students had the potential of expanding their creativity to spheres that would have not normally been part of their learning experience.
By crafting music videos as social reach-out tools for promoting social sustainability, students were given substantial autonomy, challenging them to use higher level skills such as creative thinking, problem-solving, relating ideas, as well as using evidence to build arguments (Palermo and McCann, 2024). The project supports the Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) impactful five by fostering meaning creation, joy, active engagement, social interaction, and iteration in the educational process.
The case: goal, context, challenge, and gains
The mission behind this project was clear: equip young adults with the tools and knowledge to make safer financial decisions. With the rise of crypto investment scams, particularly targeting those aged 16-30, our students were tasked with raising awareness about fraudulent activities in the online financial space. Scammers often exploit social media and fake celebrity endorsements to lure victims, tricking them with manipulated websites that display false prices and returns. The problem is urgent—victims often only realize they've been scammed when they try to withdraw funds.
Despite the guidance from financial regulators, questions remain about the effectiveness of current messaging and awareness campaigns. Our students were challenged to think outside the box, developing a creative solution to address this growing issue. The goal? To educate young adults on the risks of cryptocurrency scams, empowering them to make informed decisions about fair and sustainable financial services. This initiative is a direct contribution to SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production.
As part of a collaborative effort, student teams were tasked with creating 30-60 second music videos entirely generated by AI. The videos—comprising music, lyrics, and avatars—gave students creative freedom in genre, while ensuring inclusivity and respectful language and visuals. Students were encouraged to leverage their diverse perspectives to craft a compelling and impactful message that would resonate with their peers.
Key contributions and gains
This project delivers value in three crucial areas:
By incorporating AI and creative media into the curriculum, we are fostering global citizenship education around responsible service consumption and sustainable investment practices. Students draw on their unique cultural perspectives to enhance the outcomes, while strengthening their understanding of SDG 12:Responsible consumption and production and sustainable lifestyles.
The project highlights how creative outputs can foster autonomy, critical thinking, and emotional engagement, in line with constructivist principles and the UN PRME framework. By integrating AI-driven digital media into pedagogy, we are empowering students to tackle real-world challenges in social sustainability. This approach aligns academic theory with practical application, offering an innovative, relatable, and inclusive method of assessment.
The next phase of this case will be shared with partner institutions that prioritize community engagement, in line with SDG 17: Partnership for the goals. By creating outputs that are directly relevant to students’ lives and experiences, we foster cognitive and emotional engagement—resulting in more effective social sustainability initiatives.
This case study demonstrates the transformative power of blending creative, technology-driven outputs with academic learning. Allowing students to demonstrate the extent to which they meet learning outcomes using an output which is relatable to their age group and lifestyle can promote cognitive and emotional engagement, producing effective social sustainability reach-out artifacts.
Sustainability at Nottingham Business School
NBS cultivate our students to become globally responsible leaders, leading the way by following a sustainable and ethical path across all endeavours - environmentally, socially, financially and economically and encouraging our students to think deeply about global sustainability challenges. Find out more
Reference
Palermo, O and McCann, M (2024). Using learner generated music videos to foster social sustainability reach in responsible Management education. National Teaching Repository. Report. https://doi.org/10.25416/NTR.26140024.v1