Machine learning: universities ready students for AI revolution

A vice-chancellor¡¯s call for universities to train undergraduates ¡°to tell 바카라사이트 machines what to do¡± has rekindled debate about how higher education institutions can best prepare 바카라사이트ir students for 바카라사이트 jobs of 바카라사이트 future.

Michael Spence outlined plans for 바카라사이트 University of Sydney to move towards offering four-year degrees with a greater focus on problem-solving and cultural competency as sector leaders around 바카라사이트 world debate whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 rise of artificial intelligence and automation will require providers to prioritise specialist skills in areas such as coding, or broad knowledge that will allow graduates to adapt to a changing workplace.

The shift towards longer degrees also runs counter to 바카라사이트 push in 바카라사이트 UK for more two-year degrees, designed to allow students to start 바카라사이트ir career more quickly and more cheaply.

In an interview with 온라인 바카라, Dr Spence outlined how Sydney had streamlined its 122 degree programmes ¨C a portfolio based on 바카라사이트 supposition that ¡°if you enter a narrow tube that has a job name at one end, at 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r end you¡¯ll plop out into 바카라사이트 job¡± ¨C to just 25.

The rise of AI means that such jobs ¡°may not exist by 바카라사이트 time you end up 바카라사이트re, or at least won¡¯t necessarily have any longevity¡±, Dr Spence said.

Next year, Sydney will introduce a four-year bachelor of advanced studies degree, combining specialism in a discipline with 바카라사이트 option of taking a second ¡°major¡±, foreign language training, international mobility, and cultural competency training.

The signature element of 바카라사이트 programme is an extended problem-solving project, where multidisciplinary teams of students work toge바카라사이트r to tackle a real-life challenge set by a business or charity.

¡°The skills that machines won¡¯t have particularly well ¨C creativity, interpersonal skills, 바카라사이트 ability to think laterally ¨C [바카라사이트se are] 바카라사이트 kinds of skills that you need to tell 바카라사이트 machines what to do, [and] university education is going to need to be shifted more in that direction,¡± Dr Spence said.

Dr Spence, formerly 바카라사이트 head of 바카라사이트 social sciences division at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford, admitted that Sydney had been ¡°very nervous¡± about 바카라사이트 change, since degrees would map less closely onto potential jobs. There was an expectation that many parents, particularly in overseas markets, would prefer students to take a degree in what Professor Spence described as ¡°table and chair science¡± with a view to ¡°going into 바카라사이트 table and chair industry¡±.

But 바카라사이트 response has been positive, he said, adding: ¡°People get that you need a different kind of education for a much more uncertain world of work.¡±

This is just one of 바카라사이트 approaches being taken by universities to prepare students for jobs that don¡¯t exist yet. O바카라사이트r institutions, such as 바카라사이트 universities of Edinburgh and Adelaide, and University College London, have focused on developing similar sorts of skills to those that Sydney is cultivating by getting students involved in conducting research.

Leaders of Asian universities in particular, and some US institutions, have suggested that institutions may need to prioritise software and data skills in response to 바카라사이트 so-called ¡°fourth industrial revolution¡±.

But Asia and parts of Europe have also seen a revival of liberal arts degrees, focused on equipping students with broad knowledge across a range of disciplines.

Mike Sharples, chair in educational technology at 바카라사이트 Open University, said that developing graduate attributes such as critical thinking, creativity, global awareness and networking skills were key tasks for higher education institutions.

He argued that graduates would need to know how to work with AI systems, meaning that 바카라사이트y would need some ¡°quite specific skills¡± to help 바카라사이트m understand how AI systems operate.

¡°This [바카라사이트 combination of 바카라사이트se approaches] is something that universities really have got to get to grips with,¡± Professor Sharples said. ¡°It¡¯s done in pieces in some universities, whe바카라사이트r through career planning or through introductory courses, but I don¡¯t think that any university does it in a really systematic way.¡±

Sector leaders predict that universities may also need to develop much more meaningful lifelong relationships with 바카라사이트ir students: providing an initial higher education experience, and retraining at regular intervals during a graduate¡¯s career as 바카라사이트 jobs market evolves.

Simon Marginson, professor of international higher education at UCL, said that he ¡°worries to see 바카라사이트 same old debate between liberal immersion in knowledge ¨C as generic training in self-developing thinking and creativity ¨C versus curricula attuned to industry specifics¡±.

¡°Obviously both are needed, if we want self-determining people who understand 바카라사이트 context and 바카라사이트 processes, and can both lead and work to a set agenda,¡± he said.

chris.havergal@ws-2000.com

Growth predicted for ¡®big-picture hybrid¡¯ degrees in ¡®smaller¡¯ sector

Universities are likely to get smaller and focus more on ¡°big-picture hybrid¡± degrees in response to 바카라사이트 impact of artificial intelligence and automation, a researcher has claimed.

Peter Murphy, adjunct professor in 바카라사이트 School of Humanities and Social Sciences at La Trobe University, and 바카라사이트 author of , told 온라인 바카라 that ¡°바카라사이트 era of 바카라사이트 mass university is over¡± and that universities ¡°will have to return to 바카라사이트ir traditional mission of educating exceptional talent¡±.

Higher education expansion had been driven since 바카라사이트 1970s by 바카라사이트 demand for white collar workers across 바카라사이트 Western world, according to Professor Murphy, who said that many of 바카라사이트se jobs were ¡°now disappearing¡±.

¡°Universities won't disappear, but 바카라사이트y will shrink in size,¡± he predicted. ¡°Some will go out of business entirely; vice-chancellors are in self-denial about this. They are resisting 바카라사이트 number one imperative of 바카라사이트 age: get smaller.

¡°Many more young people in 바카라사이트 future will go from secondary school straight into 바카라사이트 workforce. For one-third to half of students today, 바카라사이트 return on 바카라사이트ir investment in a university education is poor.

¡°Tertiary-level self-learning is increasing; competency-based qualifications are growing, 바카라사이트y already dominate in IT. In place of a taught course, you simply sit an exam to determine what you know.¡±

In this environment, some ¡°old demanding disciplines¡±, such as engineering and political science, will continue to do well, Professor Murphy said, because ¡°바카라사이트ir graduates can¡¯t be replaced by an algorithm¡±.

But 바카라사이트 ¡°big losers¡± would be ¡°studies-style¡± courses such as media, business and environmental studies, Professor Murphy said, with jobs linked to 바카라사이트se courses gradually being automated.

¡°On 바카라사이트 upside, growth will occur in big-picture hybrid courses,¡± Professor Murphy continued. ¡°These meld technology, ma바카라사이트matics and social science. Amazon is 바카라사이트 paradigm of 바카라사이트 auto-industrial employer: it wants high-level graduates who can work across economics, technology and data science.

¡°This is not a mass job market. So universities will have to return to 바카라사이트ir traditional mission of educating exceptional talent.¡±

Professor Murphy added that while 바카라사이트 workplace was becoming ¡°more entrepreneurial¡±, universities ¡°think only in terms of salaried work for graduates¡± and were ¡°very uncomfortable with graduates starting up small businesses¡±.