Can Traditional Varsities Keep Pace With AI Change?

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the job market, with a steep increase in productivity and efficiency. Experts warn that Computer Science professionals need to upskill or re-train in areas like AI and machine learning to stay competitive, as evidenced by a 15-20% drop in these roles reported by workforce solutions provider Adecco India. 

The rapid development of AI also concerns even more professionals in other industries. While AI is not likely to be able to replace human creativity shortly, a report from the world’s largest recruitment agency Randstad finds that 7 in 10 people in India are concerned about their jobs being eliminated or radically changed by AI. 

Traditional universities can be extremely slow in adapting their offerings in this fast-changing context due to their core structures, but it’s something that graduates need. High-quality online education can therefore be an incredible way to facilitate this new, massive wave of transformation in the job market, thanks to its faster pace of adaptation to innovation and greater capability of being flexible.

After all, professionals today need to learn and develop consistently to stay competitive. Technologies like AI are here to stay, and will only continue to advance. Developing skills in AI, data science and tech will be the key to helping manage the job market.

I wanted to do something to help people to upskill in these areas. This was my leading motive for developing the Open Institute of Technology (OPIT).

The fact is that 50% of students now see university degrees as “unnecessary” for their future careers, according to a study by VICE Media and ECMC. This was due to a few reasons, but most students cited the workforce shortages. We want to prove that a degree can enrich your life, and help you to be the medicine to those very shortages.

Tech degrees will equip graduates with valuable skills for an ever-changing, dynamic job market. Our goal is to help open doors to fulfilling careers, some of which may not even exist yet.

The future of work demands adaptability and a willingness to embrace new technologies. AI in education can empower students to become future-proof tech professionals, with the ability to go in any direction they like. 

The author is the founder & director of the Open Institute of Technology