BUSINESS SKILLS FOR A CHANGING WORLD: HOW ISL IS TEACHING TOMORROW’S LEADERS TODAY
in an environment where thoughtful risk is encouraged and ambitious ideas can be developed with expert support. “Young people are increasingly exposed to large language models in their learning and everyday lives. ISL students have followed a bespoke AI curriculum about the functioning, ethical, and transparent use of AI and how it can be leveraged as a learning tool. We are acutely aware that learning only occurs when students think deeply about a specific topic. Our continued goal is to design experiences that harness the power of AI without the cognitive offloading young people risk when using AI to support their thinking.” – Simon Foley, Secondary School Principal and Head of the ISL’s AI group PUTTING IDEAS INTO PRACTICE At the centre of this approach is ISL’s Impact Hub, launched last year as a
As artificial intelligence reshapes the workplace and career paths become less predictable, parents are asking an increasingly important question of schools: will academic success be matched by the judgement, adaptability and leadership skills young people need to thrive? Today’s students are likely to enter a world that rewards more than knowledge alone. They will need to recognise problems, work with people who think differently, test ideas, learn from setbacks and adapt when circumstances change. These are business skills, but they are also life skills. At the International School of Lausanne (ISL) , the response is built around a straightforward principle: young people should not have to wait until university or their first internship to discover how innovation works. They need opportunities to practise it while they are still at school,
dedicated environment for innovation, collaboration and entrepreneurship. Its significance lies less in the technology it contains than in the behaviours it is designed to develop. Mindset sessions encourage emotional resilience, calculated risk-taking and learning from setbacks, while practical workshops introduce design thinking, project management, entrepreneurship and AI integration. Mentorship gives students access to industry expertise as they move from developing an idea towards execution. This matters because leadership is difficult to learn in the abstract. A lesson can explain project management; a live project reveals what happens when a brief is unclear, a deadline proves unrealistic or a team has not agreed how decisions will be
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL PARENT AUTUMN 2026 | 12
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