Enabling creative expression in Wharton’s MBA program with Veo

Forio is a leading simulation company building experiential learning solutions for higher education and enterprise, with over 10 million learners having used their platform since 2001. One of their flagship deployments is for The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, specifically for Management 6100, a required first-week course where student teams run an electric car company, navigating leadership challenges and making core business decisions.

For the 2025 major revision of this simulation, Wharton and Forio sought to incorporate AI capabilities to balance analytical decision-making with creative expression. Forio integrated Veo directly into their Epicenter web-based simulation platform, enabling 150 teams of six students to complete marketing projects using generative AI.

Previously, creative expression within business simulations was largely limited to text, numbers, and static images. Video content was unfeasible due to the need for animation skills, expensive tools, and weeks of post-production time—none of which fit within the tight constraints of a one-week intensive program. By using Veo, students could generate professional-grade video clips for their car company commercials using only natural language prompts.

Forio’s implementation in Epicenter was designed for high concurrency and low latency, as it needed to handle over 850 students dispersed across Wharton’s Huntsman Hall, often working in simultaneous waves. The platform successfully handled three waves of students, managing 50 concurrent video generations at a time.

On average, Veo 2 generated these eight-second clips in approximately 45 seconds, allowing teams to iterate rapidly on their creative concepts during live simulation sessions. Over the course of the week, Wharton MBA students generated between 1,300 and 1,500 video clips.

The introduction of Veo generated exceptional enthusiasm. Faculty reported that engagement was so high that students frequently ran late to subsequent sessions because they did not want to stop creating. The activity was noted as a dramatic improvement over previous exercises with similar learning goals.

Wharton is the leading voice regarding AI in business, leading the way regarding AI research as well as usage of AI within their classrooms. Course faculty include Nancy Rothbard, Adam Grant, Samir Nurmohamed, and Michael Parke.

By integrating Veo, Wharton and Forio demonstrated that generative AI can effectively power creative expression in traditionally analytical business education, providing students with hands-on experience with tools they will likely encounter in their future careers.

To start building with Veo, read our API documentation.