Universities must adapt as AI redefines the future of learning

UNIVERSITIES must adapt to the age of artificial intelligence (AI) by rethinking how they prepare students for a workforce where skills, industries and job roles are constantly changing.

Professor David FitzPatrick, Pro-Vice Chancellor at the University of Nottingham and Provost and CEO at the University of Nottingham Malaysia, said universities must prepare students with strong foundations while ensuring they can adapt as industries evolve.

“The challenge for universities now is to prepare students to have the fundamentals and also be able to look forward and be confident to adapt, to be future ready and not just today ready,” FitzPatrick said.

The rise of generative AI has also accelerated this shift, forcing universities to rethink how they teach, assess and prepare students for the workforce.

FitzPatrick said universities are now moving beyond concerns over preventing AI use, and are focusing on helping students understand how to apply the technology effectively.

“AI exists. So, the challenge now, in both programme delivery and programme assessment, is how to first get students to recognise how best to use AI in their particular area,” he said.

He said assessments may require students to use AI, but they must demonstrate how they apply the technology and exercise their own judgement.

“We might require students to use AI, but they have to demonstrate fully how they use it, how they are driving it as a tool, as opposed to just taking an answer out and accepting the output,” FitzPatrick said during an interview with Consider This on Astro Awani.

As AI becomes increasingly integrated into education and the workplace, FitzPatrick highlighted the role of universities is also to ensure students develop the human skills needed to use these tools effectively.

He said universities must continue developing skills that technology cannot easily replicate, including critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making.

These skills, he added, are developed not only through academic programmes, but also through experiences beyond the classroom where students learn to collaborate, take initiative and apply their knowledge in real-world situations.

This focus on maintaining a human-centred approach to AI has also shaped how students at the University of Nottingham think about the technology.

FitzPatrick shared that a group of final-year students were challenged to explore how AI would impact their learning experience, resulting in the development of an AI manifesto for education.

He said the student-led initiative highlighted the importance of ensuring humans remain central to the use and evolution of AI.

“They recognised that AI is there, but their focus was very much on how we ensure that the human remains central to the use and evolution of AI. How do we use it in a way that is best for everybody?” he said.

Beyond adapting to AI, FitzPatrick said universities must also rethink how they prepare graduates for careers that may no longer follow a single path.

He said the traditional idea that one qualification defines an entire career is changing, with graduates increasingly needing to build knowledge and skills across different disciplines.