Virtually all aspects and positions at universities will be touched by the AI transformation. The changes will come more rapidly than many of us in higher education are accustomed to or with which we are comfortable. In large part, the speed will be demanded by employers of our learners and by competition among universities. Change will also strike directly at the nature of what and how we teach. The higher-level skills humans will need as described by the Global Skills Development Council are different from many of the career-specific skills that universities now provide in short form certificates and certification programs. Rather, I suggest that these broad, deep skills are ones that we might best describe as “wisdom” skills. They are not vocational, but instead, deeper skills related to overall maturity and sophistication in leadership, vision and insight. They include thinking critically, thinking creatively, applying ethical reasoning, and adaptive collaboration with both humans and agentic AI.
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
How Can Leaders Adapt to AI? - Michael Platt, Knowledge at Wharton
In this updated and expanded edition of his groundbreaking book The Leader’s Brain, Wharton Neuroscience Initiative director Michael Platt reveals how the latest advances in neuroscience — including new insights from artificial intelligence — are transforming our understanding of effective leadership. In the following excerpt from the book, Platt explains how leaders can adapt to new technologies like AI and help their teams do the same. “The real problem of humanity is the following: we have paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technologies.” — E. O. Wilson.... As a neuroscientist, I would modify his statement slightly to emphasize that we’re attempting to manage these godlike technologies not just with paleolithic emotions, but also with a Stone Age brain—neural architecture that evolved to handle the basic survival challenges of our hunter-gatherer ancestors, not to manage powerful tools that can transform how society works and how we think.
2025 State of Credentialing Report - Accredible
Our latest State of Credentialing research shows just how urgent this need has become:
91% of employers actively look for digital credentials when reviewing candidates.
86% say they would be more likely to interview someone with a digital credential proving a key skill.
63% have hired a candidate, at least in part, because of a digital credential.
Yet only 46% regularly see digital credentials in applications.
https://www.accredible.com/
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
The Big Rethink: An agenda for thriving in the agentic age - Quantum Black by McKinsey
Has there been a technology innovation in recent memory that has engendered more wildly divergent thinking than agentic AI? We’re hard-pressed to think of one. Depending on who you talk to or what you read, AI agents—systems based on gen AI foundation models that can act in the world and execute multistep processes—will lead to a utopia of productivity. Or displace huge swaths of the labor force. Or lead to robots running the world. Or provide everyone with a superpower. Or all of the above. To prepare for this uncertain future, executives will need to strip away the emotion from the conversation. Promises are everywhere; critical thinking, however, is in short supply. The economic potential of generative AI: The next productivity frontier: The potential of agentic AI certainly appears significant, especially as the technology continues its torrid pace of improvement. It is poised to transform knowledge work and reshape the nature of competition.
AI-powered teaching and learning for all Microsoft 365 education customers - MikeTholfsen, Microsoft TechCommunity
In our main Microsoft Education blog this morning, we announced the details of how Microsoft Education is bringing even more value to all EDU customers with Microsoft 365, including a new set of capabilities designed for relevant and powerful use by educators and students. These features will be included in all of the academic SKUs (A SKUs) at no additional cost, and many will be rolling out starting today, while others will be rolling out later this year and into early next year.
Topics:
AI for educators at no additional cost
AI for learners at no additional cost
Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
Microsoft 365 LTI (LMS integration updates)
Microsoft 365 Copilot (add-on required)
Learning Accelerator updates
Learning Zone on the Copilot+ PC – public preview now available
Minecraft EU updates
We’re also introducing an academic offering for Microsoft 365 Copilot in education at $18 (USD) per user per month for educators, staff, and students ages 13 and older starting in December 2025.
MindMirror: A Digital Reflection Tool for Students - Luqman Syakir Adong, et al; IEEE
Reflection is an important practice for students because it helps identifying knowledge gaps, developing improvement strategies, and enhancing academic performance. However, existing digital solutions often do not support sustained reflection or provide instructional feedback. MindMirror, an online reflective tool is proposed to integrate self-regulated learning (SRL) and metacognitive strategies through well-defined question categories, i.e., Topic Assessment, Learning Insight, and Classroom Feedback. The tool includes features for group creation, response submission, analysis tools, and artificial intelligence-generated feedback to support student reflection and teaching effectiveness. By fostering meaningful reflection and actionable insights, MindMirror aims to create a continuous, student-lecturer feedback loop that improves learning outcomes.
Monday, October 27, 2025
Universities at a turning point in an era of AI insecurity - Amber Wang, University World News
As artificial intelligence and global insecurity challenge university leaders worldwide, it is more important than ever for universities to remain true to their fundamental principles, according to the President of the American Council on Education (ACE), Ted Mitchell. “Independence, intellectual inquiry and academic excellence, inclusion, [and] the expectation that education is a good to be consumed by all of our citizens – these are things that we can’t compromise [on],” he said via video link to a conference of global university leaders of the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) this week in Seoul, South Korea.
7 skills Harvard says will keep you employed in the age of ChatGPT - Times of India
Generative AI is transforming workplaces. Harvard research highlights seven key human skills that will keep workers valuable. These include critical thinking, AI fluency, complex problem-solving, communication, lifelong learning, ethical judgment and experimentation. Mastering these abilities will allow individuals to effectively leverage AI tools and navigate the evolving job market. Employers will prioritise these durable human capabilities.
Teacher agency and generative artificial intelligence: teaching in higher education as a responsive, cultural activity - Peter Kahn, et al; Taylor and Francis Online
The widespread adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence tools by students poses a challenge to teachers in Higher Education. This study aimed to explore the nature of teacher agency in a setting where students were making extensive use of Large Language Models. The study was conducted in a research-intensive university in the UK, adopting a sequential mixed methods research design. It found that challenges entailed in university teaching can helpfully be framed in terms of a relationship between the agency of teachers and the agency of students, even as this relationship is subject to cultural influences. Given a reflexive basis for agency, this framing underscores the importance of dialogue between teachers and students, even as the uncertainty generated by Large Language Models undercuts the conditions which make the dialogue possible.
Sunday, October 26, 2025
Growing share of Americans say the U.S. higher education system is headed in the wrong direction - Pew Research
In the new survey, majorities across all major demographic groups share the view that the U.S. higher education system is going in the wrong direction. But some groups are more likely than others to say this. For example, adults who have a four-year college degree are somewhat more likely than those without a college degree to express this view (74% vs. 69%). A line chart showing that views of higher education have turned more negative in both parties. Similarly, 77% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say the higher education system is going in the wrong direction, compared with a smaller majority (65%) of Democrats and Democratic leaners. In both parties, these shares have gone up by at least 10 percentage points since 2020 – and the gap between Republicans and Democrats has narrowed.
What’s Your AI-dentity? - Bloomberg
The momentous decisions the world faces about AI’s role in our lives offer outcomes that seemingly range from universal enlightenment to mass extinction. How do you see AI shaping our future? More importantly, how do you want it to shape our future? Are you an Accelerationist? A Pragmatist? A Doomer? Take our quiz to find out which one of six different AI-dentities most closely resembles your views, how your answers affected your result and who your real-life fellow travelers might be.
Navigating AI Adoption in Higher Ed: College Presidents on Student Learning vs Operational Efficiency - University Business
While generative AI tools like ChatGPT have dominated headlines and sparked urgent conversations about academic integrity and pedagogy, many institutions are simultaneously exploring AI’s potential to revolutionize back-office operations—from enrollment management and advising to financial planning and facilities management. In this candid conversation, three college presidents share how they’re navigating these parallel paths of AI adoption. Should institutions prioritize AI investments that directly impact student learning experiences, or focus on operational efficiencies that can free up resources and improve service delivery? Are these truly competing priorities, or can they be part of a unified strategy?
Saturday, October 25, 2025
EDUCAUSE Action Plan Looks 10 Years Ahead at GenAI for Education - Abby Sourwine, GovTech
In a new action plan, EDUCAUSE outlines skills, ethics and collaboration strategies to guide effective use and implementation of generative artificial intelligence on college campuses for the next decade. With artificial intelligence advancing at breakneck speed, a new document from the nonprofit EDUCAUSE aims to give colleges and universities proactive steps to meet an uncertain future of teaching and learning with generative AI, rather than simply reacting to technological change. The report, 2025 EDUCAUSE Horizon Action Plan: Building Skills and Literacy for Teaching with Generative AI, is the latest in EDUCAUSE’s long-running Horizon series and outlines how educators and administrators can build skills and literacy to teach with generative AI now and in the future.
Preparing students for the world of work means embracing an AI-positive culture - Alastair Robertson, WONKHE
A key challenge is trying to maintain oversight and co-ordinate activities in large complex institutions in a field that is evolving rapidly. Providing the necessary scaffolding in terms of strategy and policy, regulatory compliance and appropriate infrastructure whilst ensuring there is sufficient flexibility to allow agility and encourage innovation is another key factor for an AI-positive culture to thrive. AI is reshaping society and building an AI-positive culture is central to the future of higher education. Through strategic clarity and cultural readiness, universities need to effectively harness AI to enhance student learning, support staff, improve productivity and prepare students for a changing world.
‘Urgent need’ for more AI literacy in higher education, report says - Anna McKie, Research Professional News
There is an “urgent need” to improve AI literacy among both staff and students at British universities, according to a report from the Higher Education Policy Institute. The report takes a broad view on how AI is reshaping higher education, including institutional strategy, teaching and assessment, research, and professional services. Wendy Hall, an internet pioneer and director of the Web Science Institute at the University of Southampton, and Giles Carden, chief strategy officer at Southampton, state in the report’s foreword that “simply acknowledging AI’s presence is insufficient”. “Active, informed engagement and a structured approach to skill development are paramount to ensure universities remain relevant and effective,” they say.
Friday, October 24, 2025
Realizing the full potential of AI agents - McKinsey
The story of agentic AI is still unfolding. The majority of CEOs have yet to see bottom-line value from AI agents. But there’s no question that the pace and potential scope of change are breathtaking. While we’re waiting for the technology to fully mature, CEOs can take advantage of this “trough of disillusionment” to understand the implications for how their companies operate, make some essential decisions, and get a jump on their competitors. A year into the agentic AI revolution, one lesson is clear: It takes hard work to do it well. We recently dug into more than 50 agentic AI builds we’ve supported, as well as dozens of others in the marketplace. Six lessons have emerged. Here’s one that may surprise you: Agents aren’t always the answer.
https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/email/shortlist/272/2025-10-17b.html
Concern and excitement about AI - Jacob Poushter, Moira Fagan and Manolo Corichi, Pew Research Center
A median of 34% of adults across 25 countries are more concerned than excited about the increased use of artificial intelligence in daily life. A median of 42% are equally concerned and excited, and 16% are more excited than concerned. Older adults, women, people with less education and those who use the internet less often are particularly likely to be more concerned than excited. Roughly half of adults in the U.S., Italy, Australia, Brazil and Greece say they are more concerned than excited about the increased use of AI in daily life. But in 15 of the 25 countries polled, the largest share of people are equally concerned and excited. In no country surveyed is the largest share more excited than concerned about the increasing use of AI in daily life.
Sharing Resources, Best Practices in AI - Ashley Mowreader, Inside Higher Ed
While generative artificial intelligence tools have proliferated in education and workplace settings, not all tools are free or accessible to students and staff, which can create equity gaps regarding who is able to participate and learn new skills. To address this gap, San Diego State University leaders created an equitable AI alliance in partnership with the University of California, San Diego, and the San Diego Community College District. Together, the institutions work to address affordability and accessibility concerns for AI solutions, as well as share best practices, resources and expertise. In the latest episode of Voices of Student Success, host Ashley Mowreader speaks with James Frazee, San Diego State University’s chief information officer, about the alliance and SDSU’s approach to teaching AI skills to students.
Thursday, October 23, 2025
About 1 in 5 U.S. workers now use AI in their job, up since last year - Luona Lin, Pew Research
As the abilities of artificial intelligence (AI) tools advance rapidly, a growing share of Americans say they are using the technology in their jobs. Today, 21% of U.S. workers say at least some of their work is done with AI, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in September. That share is up from 16% roughly a year ago. Most American workers (65%) still say they don’t use AI much or at all in their job.
Interactive learning system neural network algorithm optimization - Hao Cao, et al; Nature
With the development of artificial intelligence education, the human-computer interaction and human-human interaction in virtual learning communities such as Zhihu and Quora have become research hotspots. This study has optimized the research dimensions of the virtual learning system in colleges and universities based on neural network algorithms and the value of digital intelligence in the humanities. This study aims to improve the efficiency and interactive quality of students’ online learning by optimizing the interactive system of virtual learning communities in colleges.
3 Leadership Micro-Credentials Are Redefining The Modern Career Path -Cheryl Robinson, Forbes
Traditional degrees are yielding to skills-based hiring, making micro-credentials crucial for professionals. These short, focused programs, offered by universities and tech platforms, efficiently equip leaders with vital skills like digital fluency and strategic agility. They address the urgent need for reskilling by 2030, enabling continuous learning and proving capabilities without lengthy academic commitments, though standardization is still evolving.
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