As we review our courses, their currency, relevance and value, it is an opportune time to reach out to those employers who hire our graduates and review literature from the field on how well prepared our students are for careers in this emerging artificial intelligence era. The Digital Education Council, in a report one year ago in collaboration with the Global Finance & Technology Network, released their “AI in the Workplace” report finding “a sharp disconnect between industry and higher education: only 3% of employers believe higher education is adequately preparing graduates for an AI-driven future.”
As Louise Nicol raises in University World News, “If universities do not future-proof their offer through deeper and more credible partnerships with employers and industry, what exactly prevents employers from educating and training people themselves?”
With this in mind, now is a great time to reach out to our placement partners to craft more appropriate learning outcomes for our classes and degrees as a whole. The foundation for this may involve taking the time this summer to visit HR departments and corporate leaders to discuss just what shortcomings they see among our recent graduates. This can and should be done in collaboration with the department and college leaders and committees.
