Scenario-based learning pedagogy (SLP) using generative AI
Dr Ali Sheikhbahaei, 2025
Dr Ali Sheikhbahaei is a passionate educator who is deeply committed to building a sustainable and responsible educational experience for his students. As a teaching-focused academic, Ali looks ahead to the future challenges and opportunities that students are likely to face, whether in further education or in the rapidly evolving global job market. His teaching practice is driven by a desire to equip students with practical, ethical, and future-ready tools that ensure a smooth transition from classroom to career.
One of Ali’s most significant contributions is his award-winning Scenario-Based Learning Pedagogy (SLP) using Generative AI. This approach won the 2024 Bloomberg Award for Best Innovative Teaching Practice and has been praised for its originality and impact. In this model, students develop both AI and IT literacy while being exposed to the real challenges in the corporate environments. The process helps students not only build confidence in their subject knowledge but also critically examine the role of AI in ethical and genuine decision-making, which is paramount to the future of responsible education and employment.
In addition, Ali has led the design and development of a cutting-edge simulation tool in International Finance, developed through a unique collaboration between Monash Faculty of IT and Warwick Business School. This project responds to a well-known gap in the curriculum: while students often learn theory well, many struggle to connect those ideas to real-world applications. The simulation tackles this head-on by placing students in dynamic, real-time financial environments where they make strategic decisions about currency exposure, interest rate risk, and capital allocation under pressure. The tool doesn’t just test what students know, but in the meantime, it challenges how they think, act, and reflect under uncertainty, a skill set vital for any future finance professional.
Ali also uses case-based learning to guide students through the intersection of finance, ethics, and sustainability, particularly in areas like ESG and Fintech. By designing workshop activities and assessments around SWOT analyses and reflective tasks, he gives students space to grapple with the broader impact of financial decisions and build a habit of thinking ethically and systemically that is core to any vision of responsible education.
Ali’s teaching philosophy is grounded in authenticity, adaptability, and inclusivity. His classrooms are spaces where students are challenged but supported, encouraged to take risks, and guided to develop not just technical skills, but the kind of judgment and awareness that will serve them well beyond university.
Dr Ali Sheikhbahaei is not just delivering content, but also shaping the next generation of responsible finance professionals. He would be an excellent voice to feature in the SIP’s Teaching Voices initiative.