Two representatives of the SISTERING team participated in international professional development programs: Katrīna Bartkevicha in the National University of Singapore (NUS) program “AI for Business”, Marta Vorkale in the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business (UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business) program “Product Management”.
Singapore: Artificial Intelligence is not a topic for discussion
In Singapore, artificial intelligence is no longer a question of the future. It is already integrated into education, government, medicine and business. It is no longer discussed. The focus is on how to use AI better, faster and more meaningfully in a specific industry, process or decision.
The NUS “AI for Business” program brought together 25 representatives of Latvian companies for a week in an environment where AI adoption is not a strategic choice, but an operational self-evident fact. This difference between “talking” and “doing” is practically measurable.
“There is a great distance between considering and doing. And this distance is not reduced by discussions, it is reduced by practice.” Katrina Bartkeviča, SISTERING
What Latvian companies can learn from Singapore's experience
- The pace of AI adaptation is determined by action. Companies that are already using AI in specific processes gain an advantage over those that wait for a complete strategy and only then begin implementation.
- The main question is not “whether to use it”, but “where exactly does it have a measurable effect”. Singapore's approach to AI is pragmatic and based on measurable benefits.
- Employee skill development is part of the infrastructure, not a separate project. AI competence develops alongside daily work, not in parallel with it.
Berkeley: Product Management Starts with Customer Need
The UC Berkeley Haas School of Business’s Product Management program lasts 7 weeks. Six weeks of online preparation, one week in person at Berkeley. The content includes lectures, generative AI applications, simulation games, real-world case studies, and work with 40+ fellow students from around the world: founders, CEOs, engineers, and product managers.
“The ”Job to be Done“ approach is a strategic framework that focuses not on the product itself, but on the progress and change the client wants to achieve in their business. By understanding the client’s true ”task”, we stop offering just aesthetics and instead provide strategic authority that ensures business value recognition in the digital age.” Marta Vorkale, SISTERING
This approach to product development is known as “jobs to be done”: the customer doesn’t buy a product, they buy the outcome the product helps achieve. The technology serves that outcome, not the other way around.
What Latvian companies can learn from Berkeley's experience
- Product design is not defined by a list of features. The starting point is the question “what is the client trying to accomplish”, not “what can we build”.
- AI-assisted design accelerates iterations, but does not replace understanding the customer's needs.
- Product management frameworks are practical tools. Product canvas, innovation process, and structured validation reduce the time from idea to working solution.
Two programs, one principle
The Singapore and Berkeley experiences look like two separate topics, but in content, both are based on the same principle: technology without application does not produce results. In Singapore, it manifests itself as the implementation of AI in everyday practice. In Berkeley, it manifests itself as building a product based on customer need, not on the capabilities of the technology.
For Latvian companies, this combination is practically applicable on two levels:
- At the operational level – An AI strategy that remains in presentations does not bring results. It must be translated into concrete processes where AI saves time or improves quality this week.
- At the strategic level – Product development that starts with technology rather than customer work often ends up with a good solution that no one buys. The priority is the issue the customer is truly trying to solve.
About project support
SISTERING has received support for improving the digital skills of its employees Latvian Digital Accelerator implemented within the framework of the project “Development of digital skills for the development of new products and technologies in Latvian merchants” (Agreement No. 2.3.1.2.i.0/1/24/I/CFLA/002).
The project strengthens the ability of companies to use digital technologies in business processes, develop digital management, automation, robotization and innovation, as well as promote export development and sustainable entrepreneurship.
The article was prepared by: Mg.sc.comm. Katrīna Bartkeviča, strategic communication specialist and head of SISTERING.
