Equipping Students for an AI-Enabled Future: Rethinking Higher Education Curriculum and Assessment

In the last couple of years, higher education has experienced a sharp rise in students using generative artificial intelligence (AI). This has raised many concerns and a significant amount has been written on the challenges it poses to the industry. The paper, however, explores how AI might change the way degrees are designed, taught, and assessed in order to remain current and relevant to students and their future employers, and provide students with all the skills required to pursue their future careers with confidence.

A recent survey from the Digital Education Council, a global alliance of universities and industry representatives focusing on innovation of higher education, indicates that 86% of university students use AI in their studies. More interestingly, 58% of students feel that they do not have sufficient AI knowledge and skills, and 48% of student do not feel adequately prepared for an AI-enabled workplace (Digital Education Council Global AI Student Survey 2024). At the same time, research indicates that employers expect that recent graduates are confident in using AI, know how to prompt effectively, apply AI successfully and ethically, and are aware of the limitations of generative AI (Zhou and Schofield, 2024; Okemwa, 2024; Deloitte, 2023).This challenges higher education institutions to consider how they are supporting students in using AI appropriately and raises questions in relation to curriculum design, skills development and employability.

The paper explores how students can be equipped with the necessary AI skills to support their learning and skills development. It will discuss several teaching and learning activities which will help students to develop an understanding of AI and how they can use and apply it. At the same time, the paper discusses the importance of making students aware of the moral and ethical consequences of AI and how this can be achieved to ensure that students can make informed and critical decisions regarding the use of AI tools. The overall aim of the paper is to provide ideas on how AI could be integrated into teaching and explore some of the potential benefits that AI could have on higher education.