Crestmont DBA candidates present AI research at Global AI Summit 2026

Nine Crestmont University Doctor of Business Administration candidates presented applied AI research at the university’s Global AI Summit 2026 on Sept. 10, focusing on business problems in healthcare, logistics, software development, governance, sustainability and hospitality. The projects show how AI research is moving from theory to enterprise use cases that still face real-world adoption, oversight and scaling hurdles.

Why it matters: - Crestmont University’s DBA program is putting doctoral research directly into business problems that organizations are trying to solve now. - The projects focused on areas where AI is already affecting operations, but where adoption still depends on regulation, governance, workforce design and execution. - The summit also showed how applied research can produce practical outputs, not just academic papers.

What happened: - Nine Doctor of Business Administration candidates presented original AI research at Global AI Summit 2026, a virtual summit hosted by Crestmont University on Sept. 10, 2026. - The event used the theme “Think. Build. Transform.” - More than 30 DBA candidates from around the world attended the roughly 3.5-hour session. - The summit centered on “AI-Powered Entrepreneurship: Innovating Sustainable, Ethical, and Scalable Global Enterprises.”

The details: - Bita Lyons presented “Scaling Healthcare AI Globally: From Clinical Validation to Sustainable Commercial Adoption,” which examines why healthcare AI tools often struggle to reach patients at scale after clinical validation. - Alex Tessema presented “AI-Driven Forecasting and Workforce Optimization in Ground Logistics Operations,” which applies AI to demand forecasting and staffing in logistics. - Prosper R. Kaondera and Guy Christian Agbor presented “Ethical AI, Governance & Responsive Innovation,” which builds governance structures for emerging AI risks. - Chimankpam Michael Oleru presented “Who Decides? Building Enterprise Decision Systems for Responsive AI Transformation,” which examines how organizations divide decision-making between AI systems and human leaders. - Jacob Ennin presented “Generative AI in Enterprise: A Strategic Enabler for Transformation Projects,” which looks at how business value depends on how organizations integrate generative AI into broader strategy. - Shenkla Khan presented “AI-Assisted Development: A Multi-Agent Approach to Software Development Lifecycle,” which studies coordinated multi-agent AI systems in software engineering. - Jaquan Williams presented “Verde Nexus as an AI-Enabled Sustainability and Global Learning Platform,” which pairs AI with sustainability and educational goals. - Yolanda Hawkins presented “Beyond the Machine: AI-Enabled Vending & the Evolution of Hospitality,” which examines how AI changes vending into an intelligent service layer. - Each presenter had 10 minutes to present, followed by a 5-minute Q&A. - Faculty reviewed all presentation materials before the summit. - Crestmont University says the Doctoral Research Project model requires students to solve a real organizational problem with doctoral-level research and a working solution. - The DBA program also offers a dissertation pathway focused on a new theoretical contribution to the field. - Both DBA paths require doctoral-level rigor and faculty supervision. - The difference between the two paths is whether the research stays within one organization or contributes to broader academic literature. - More information about Crestmont University’s DBA program

Between the lines: - The summit reflects a broader shift in business AI: the hardest problems are no longer only technical. - The projects suggest that enterprise AI success now depends on adoption, governance, workforce readiness and measurable business outcomes. - The healthcare and logistics topics point to sectors where AI can create direct operational gains, but also where deployment barriers remain high. - McKinsey’s latest State of AI survey found 88% of organizations use AI in at least one business function, up from 78% the year before, and projected global productivity gains from AI could reach $2.9 trillion by 2030. - Adoption remains uneven by sector and company size, and many organizations still struggle to move from pilot projects to enterprise-wide impact.

What’s next: - Crestmont University is positioning its DBA and DRP structure as a pathway for students to keep producing applied research tied to live business problems. - The university expects both the doctoral research project and dissertation paths to continue serving different goals: practical organizational solutions and broader academic contribution. - Readers interested in the program can explore the DBA specializations and research pathways through the university link above.

The bottom line: - Crestmont’s summit framed AI as a business transformation issue as much as a technology issue, with doctoral candidates testing real-world uses that still need governance, scale and implementation discipline.