HyAIDesign is an innovative AI-supported hybrid learning model that combines artificial intelligence, active learning pedagogies, and an ontological framework to strengthen collaborative entrepreneurial awareness in contexts of economic resilience. Developed using the ADDIE instructional design framework, the model integrates AI-powered online learning with interactive, learner-centered activities to foster critical thinking, self-regulated learning, creativity, and entrepreneurial problem-solving. Its key innovation is the integration of an ontological framework that formalizes the design of AI-supported hybrid courses, enabling their standardization, reusability, interoperability, and scalability across different educational institutions and cultural contexts.

The model was designed, implemented, and validated through a quantitative study involving university students in Lebanon and Tunisia. The results demonstrate a strong educational impact: approximately 80–90% of participants acquired a solid understanding of entrepreneurial concepts and successfully applied them in practical situations, while more than 70% reported significant improvements in learning organization, engagement, collaboration, and course management. The consistency of these findings across both countries confirms the robustness, adaptability, and transferability of HyAIDesign.

Beyond improving learning outcomes, HyAIDesign provides an innovative framework for the responsible integration of artificial intelligence into higher education. By combining pedagogical innovation, semantic technologies, and AI-assisted learning, it creates a sustainable and scalable ecosystem that prepares learners to address entrepreneurial, economic, and societal challenges while supporting institutions in transforming teaching, assessment, and governance practices. The model offers a practical solution for developing future-ready entrepreneurial competencies and advancing digital transformation in higher education.

Practical Implications

HyAIDesign demonstrates how AI-supported hybrid entrepreneurship education can be transformed into a scalable innovation ecosystem that benefits learners, higher education institutions, policymakers, and entrepreneurial ecosystems. The model promotes critical and ethical AI use by encouraging students to question AI-generated outputs, verify information, and use AI as a cognitive partner rather than an unquestioned authority. Through the integration of AI-supported online learning, collaborative classroom activities, and reflective practice within a learning management system, HyAIDesign strengthens analytical reasoning, entrepreneurial opportunity recognition, creativity, and self-regulated learning.

For higher education institutions, the model provides a transferable framework for curriculum redesign, instructor development, AI-informed assessment, and responsible AI governance. For policymakers, it offers a roadmap for strengthening digital infrastructure, AI literacy, and ethical governance while supporting the development of inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems. Particularly suited to crisis-affected and resource-constrained environments, HyAIDesign expands access to high-quality education, enhances employability, supports startups and SMEs, and contributes to economic resilience, social inclusion, and sustainable development. Its adaptability across educational contexts positions it as a high-impact innovation with significant potential for national and international deployment.

 Ethics, Transparency, and Responsible AI Use

The course used generative AI responsibly, with clear rules around privacy and transparency. AI served as a support tool for learning, not as a grader, and students knew exactly when and how they were allowed to use it. No personal or institutional data was ever entered into AI systems. Students were also told not to share any identifiable information, academic records, or private content when using these tools. This exploratory pilot study evaluates how effective a 7-module SPOC on the collaborative economy was as a teaching tool. It was run as a cross-national research project between universities in Tunisia and Lebanon and hosted on an LMS platform. The first three modules were introduced over two in-person sessions, while the remaining modules were done online at each student's own pace. Each module included around 90 minutes of structured content — slides, readings, and activities. To make sure students engaged in it, the course was folded into the official semester evaluation.

Assessment methods included MCQs, online tests, structured exercises, and AI-assisted reflective assignments. The in-class oral session was designed as a structured, interactive discussion aimed at (1) strengthening teacher-student engagement, (2) encouraging peer exchange, and (3) assessing disciplinary understanding through formative questions. During the exploratory phase, AI tools were permitted but with clear limits — students had to justify their use, question the output critically, and verify their sources. Building on work carried out at the Faculté des Sciences Economiques et de Gestion in Sousse and the Faculté de Gestion et de Management at Saint-Joseph University, our study adopts a hybrid learning approach powered by generative AI and structured around the ADDIE model.

In the analysis phase, trainers assessed learners' profiles and their readiness to work digitally. The Design phase focused on structuring the SPOC, the MCQs, and the self-paced modules. In the Development phase, the focus shifted to producing AI-supported learning materials and integrating them on an e-learning platform. The literature tied to each phase points to a few key trends: the increasing adoption of SPOCs for delivering modular, scalable courses (Laurillard, 2016), the role generative AI plays in personalizing instruction (Kumar et al., 2024), and how hybrid learning boosts engagement and flexibility (Graham, 2021). AI was used to support and sharpen the analysis, not to replace the course itself, and students were encouraged to go deeper in their own understanding of the material. An oral Q&A session was also held, with three goals in mind: 1) building stronger interaction between teacher and students, 2) encouraging discussion and exchange of views among students and with the teacher, and 3) testing participants' knowledge and learning outcomes.

The course was designed following a thorough analysis of the learner profiles at both universities. Since the Lebanese students were undergraduates while the Tunisian students were at the graduate level, the SPOC had to be customized to fit these different educational needs. It was implemented on a private platform using seven PowerPoint presentations totaling 50 slides. The overall goal of the course was to help students understand and critically evaluate the collaborative economy.

The curriculum drew on a mix of pedagogical resources — academic references, course texts, reading notes, films, and interactive elements. To keep students engaged and help them retain the material, the course also included activities like in-class exercises, online tests, forum debates, and real-time discussions. The delivery format was hybrid: the first two sessions, covering the first three modules, were done in person with the teacher's guidance, while the remaining modules were completed independently online, using the resources and activities built into the SPOC. Overall, AI currently plays a supporting role — boosting satisfaction and engagement — rather than directly driving how well students understand the content. Within HyAIDesign, it's really the pedagogical design and technological infrastructure that shape learning outcomes, with AI acting more as a motivating complement to human-centered hybrid teaching. The fact that this pattern holds consistently across groups suggests it's a genuine feature of the learning environment, not just a one-off result.

Glossary

ADDIE: Analysis; Design; Development; Implementation; Evaluation

AI: Artificial Intelligence

HyAIDesign: Hybrid Artificial Intelligence Instructional Design

LMS: Learning Management System

MCQ: Multiple-Choice Questions)

SPOC: Small Private Online Course