On 2 October 2026, the AI4GreenBus project hosted the international webinar “Designing Sustainable Business: Insights, Innovation and Design Thinking”, bringing together more than 90 participants interested in sustainable business, artificial intelligence, innovation and education.
The two-hour webinar combined a practical masterclass with the latest research findings from the AI4GreenBus project. The programme opened with an introduction to the project, followed by the masterclass “Design Thinking in Sustainable Business” led by Karīna Villerte-Cīrule from Turiba University. The second part of the webinar focused on four key areas currently being researched within AI4GreenBus – innovation in teaching, AI in innovation, sustainable business models, and the Metaverse as an educational space.
The research findings on AI in education show that artificial intelligence is already widely used by both students and teachers, but educational practices have not yet fully adapted. It is important to develop AI literacy, rethink assessment methods, and teach students to use AI as a supporting tool while maintaining critical thinking and the ability to make independent, well-reasoned decisions.
In innovation and business, AI offers significant opportunities to generate and analyse ideas faster, process data, and explore different solutions. However, one of the key messages was that an AI-generated output is not yet a final solution – it still requires testing, evidence, and human professional judgement. AI creates the greatest value when it complements human expertise and supports better-informed decisions.
Research on sustainable business models and the Metaverse as a learning environment highlighted how AI can help businesses use resources more efficiently, reduce costs and material consumption, and develop more sustainable solutions. In education, the value of the Metaverse lies not in the technology itself, but in creating purposeful learning experiences where students can make decisions, see their consequences, analyse results, and improve their solutions.
Watch Webinar recording:
Webinar presentations and materials
- AI4GreenBus – Project Introduction and current Research
- Karīna Villerte-Cīrule, Turiba University, Latvia – “Design Thinking in Sustainable Business”
- Haïfa Naffakhi-Charfeddine, University of Caen Normandy, France; Olga Borisova, Riga Trade Vocational Secondary School, Latvia – “Innovation in Teaching in the Age of AI”
- Saleha Haseeb, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden – “AI in Innovation: What Changes in Business, and What We Should Teach Next”
- Adrian Braun, Lapland University of Applied Sciences, Finland – “Sustainable Business Models”
- Dmytro Mamchur , Turiba University, Latvia, “Metaverse as Educational Space”