The ICAIST Congress, organised by UIC Barcelona in collaboration with Birkbeck University of London and Brunel University of London, brought together international academics and business leaders to discuss how generative artificial intelligence is revolutionising talent management, organisational dynamics and the future of work. The event was led by Business Administration lecturers Alba Manresa and Ruggero Colombari, in collaboration with Ammar Sammour, Nawaf Al-Ghanem and Weifeng Chen.

The programme included plenary sessions, round tables and presentations by international experts, such as Somia Solutions co-founder and UIC Barcelona lecturer Tetiana Klymchuk, or Mireia Garcia Roca, Director of Strategic Innovation and Transformation at Hinojosa Packaging Group.

During the opening conference, lecturer of the Master’s Degree in Data Science at UIC Barcelona and CEO of Somia Solutions, Tetiana Klymchuk, warned that many companies are not prepared to implement artificial intelligence (AI) and most of them “are only starting” in this field.

During her speech at the ICAIST Congress, Klymchuk explained that a large number of Spanish companies are in “phase 1, digitalisation, or phase 2, data exploitation” of the AI implementation process. “There are very few who are already immersed in real projects of this technology,” she added.

The specialist explained that AI still “generates resistance, much more than other technologies” and “there is a lot of ignorance”. In her opinion, “many people do not want to use it because they believe that over time it will end up replacing us, but that has always happened with the advent of technology and robots, so it is important to provide staff training, establish a culture of increased productivity and create tasks of value and impact.”

The congress also had a round table with leaders in the industry such as Aurora Maggio (Zefi.ai), Fernando Navas Cusí (Navas & Cusí Abogados), Juan Castellet (Medical Training Institute) and Juan Riviere (Google) participated.

ICAIST 2025 has served as a space for reflection and learning in which academics and experts have shared knowledge about the impact of artificial intelligence on strategic and organisational management. With a practical and multidisciplinary approach, the congress highlighted the need for companies and institutions to advance the adoption of AI, and overcome cultural and technological barriers. The UIC Barcelona initiative reinforces its commitment to innovation and knowledge transfer, and drives debate on the future of work and digital transformation in the business arena.