‘It’s up to universities to lead the way in AI’ – expert

‘It’s up to universities to lead the way in AI’ – expert

Studies show that 65% of today’s school children are expected to graduate into jobs that do not exist today, with automation driving 375 million workers to switch occupational categories by 2030.

This has posed an interesting challenge for universities. While they don’t possess a crystal ball, data-driven insights are helping universities structure their courses with these rapidly moving technological changes top of mind.

The advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), for example, is set to disrupt the education landscape, revolutionising how educational institutions use data to assess student performance, and how students learn in lecture halls and classrooms nationwide.

Last week, the AI in Libraries and Museums Symposium – held in Sydney by Microsoft Australia and Civica – offered critical insights into the use of AI and analytics in cultural institutions, and the possibilities they present to increase customer engagement and improve service delivery.

UTS executive director of data science, Dr. Fang Chen, said that when it comes to the education sector, there have been some exciting developments in data science and AI analytics.

“The most exciting development from an educational point of view is seeing how these technologies could soon be used to help enhance student engagement and improve overall learning performance,” Dr Chen told The Educator.

“AI is a rapidly expanding and innovative force that is set to change the landscape of many traditional sectors and businesses.”

Dr Chen said that for educational institutions, including universities, it’s imperative they provide timely training to their students and staff so that they have the know-how to deliver AI based solutions for their communities.

“It’s up to universities to lead the way in data science and AI analytics, especially when it comes to multidisciplinary research and their own operations too,” Dr Chen said.

“AI in educational institutions is no different to other sectors. With new and emerging technologies like AI, we must ensure we carefully design trails/tests to evaluate the result against key objectives and identify the rules and regulations surrounding the implementation of these technologies.”