A Cambridge Advance Online programme tailored for a leading global consultancy firm has won a Learning Excellence Award in the Financial and Professional Services category.

The Learning Excellence Awards recognise relevant, agile, innovative, excellent and effective initiatives, programmes, products and services The awards are UK-based, but attract submissions from across the globe. The 2026 event took place on 28 April 2026.

Learning designed to meet organisational goals

The programme was designed to address a mixed level of AI understanding among the firm’s partners. The goal was to bring them up to speed with current trends and responsible usage, so they have the confidence to advise clients on generative AI opportunities, best practice and effective tools.

It was built around an existing Cambridge Advance Online course, with the addition of two in-person away days led by University of Cambridge professor and leading AI expert Per Ola Kristensson. Among the activities were group discussions, live demos and a Dragon’s Den style pitching session to help the participants identify practical initiatives they could take forward.

[Link] Find out more about this programme.

A high-impact partner experience

The partners who took part in the programme reported significant improvements in their knowledge, especially their ability to articulate AI’s business value and apply it to client scenarios.

Andrew Pittams, Commercial Director, says: “We transformed our incredibly popular Cambridge Advance Online Generative AI in Business programme into a high-impact partner experience for a leading financial services consultancy, combining online learning with face-to-face strategic sessions in Cambridge.

“Partners left with AI strategies stress-tested by their senior leadership and University of Cambridge academics, ready to implement immediately with clients.”

The learning isn’t theoretical, it’s directly relevant

“Generative AI is moving incredibly fast, but the real challenge for organisations is turning that potential into something practical and responsible. This programme is designed to help leaders make sense of the landscape in a business context,” says Professor Per Ola Kristensson, Professor of Interactive Systems Engineering, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, who led the programme.

“From my perspective, what made this collaboration particularly impactful is that it was tailored specifically to their needs, so the learning isn’t just theoretical, it’s directly relevant, immediately applicable, and is grounded in the types of decisions that leaders have to make every day.”

83.33% of participants rated it as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’

The programme inspired learners to continue learning about AI, and they felt a strong sense of urgency about embedding it in their work.

One participant said: "I enjoyed the group discussions and the ideas of fellow attendees in the written discussion group modules.”

Another said: “The course is ideally suited to a business or operational person who is stepping out of their day-to-day role to take on an assignment working on a GenAI project. I would recommend this to many of our customers where they need to mobilise a new team of individuals to work on a project as an induction-style event.”

Want to refresh your team’s AI skills in the next 12 months? Book a free one-hour scoping call (Opens in a new window)with our Senior Strategic Collaboration Manager Arwa Due-Gundersen to talk through your goals and get a tailored learning programme.