But what does “AI readiness” mean? I began reframing that question after attending a global technology gathering of 148,000 attendees and more than 4,000 companies in Las Vegas this January. At CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2026, leaders from Nvidia, AMD and OpenAI described the future of AI. I saw robots playing table tennis and AI systems embedded in everything from mobility platforms to health devices. One idea stood out. Three essential components for AI success: A keynote speaker, Roland Busch, president and CEO of Siemens AG, described three essential components for success in the AI era: technology, domain know-how and partnerships. That framework has reshaped how I think about AI proficiency – and how I design my courses.
Wednesday, May 6, 2026
East Carolina University plans to cut 44 academic programs - Ben Unglesbee, Higher Ed Dive
East Carolina University plans to discontinue 44 undergraduate and graduate programs “that aren’t meeting expectations” after an internal review of its portfolio, the public institution said Friday in a news release. ECU has teach-out plans for students enrolled in the programs slated for closure, senior leaders said last week in a community memo. The university also plans to consolidate several institutional units, including merging two of its health colleges into one. The cuts and consolidations are part of ECU’s push to eliminate $25 million in expenses, or about 2% of its budget. So far, officials have targeted $6.2 million in cuts, the university said last week.
College students are changing course in search of ‘AI-proof’ majors. But no one knows what they are - JOCELYN GECKER and LINLEY SANDERS, Associated Press
Two years ago, Josephine Timperman arrived at college with a plan. She declared a major in business analytics, figuring she’d learn niche skills that would stand out on a resume and help land a good job after college. But the rise of artificial intelligence has scrambled those calculations. The basic skills she was learning in things like statistical analysis and coding can now easily be automated. “Everyone has a fear that entry-level jobs will be taken by AI,” said the 20-year-old at Miami University in Ohio. A few weeks ago, Timperman switched her major to marketing. Her new strategy is to use her undergraduate studies to build critical thinking and interpersonal skills — areas where humans still have an edge.
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
How AI is Reshaping the Future of Work - Stanford University Graduate School of Business
Artificial intelligence is reshaping how work happens. It is changing daily workflows, influencing how teams make decisions, and pushing leaders to rethink how organizations are structured. As with any major shift, the impact depends less on the technology itself and more on the conditions leaders create around it. As AI becomes more common across industries, the future of work will depend on leaders who can integrate these tools responsibly. AI introduces new capabilities, but leadership determines how they are applied.
Penn State launches AI literacy course for employees - EdScoop
The AI Essentials training program is designed to provide "the knowledge, skills and ethical grounding" needed to use AI responsibly. “By organizing the course into modules focused on technical knowledge, ethical awareness, critical thinking and practical application, we are empowering students, faculty and staff to engage with AI as informed, responsible participants both within the University and beyond,” Executive Vice President and Provost Fotis Sotiropoulos said in the announcement. “By aligning our AI literacy programming with the release of a new enterprise service, we are positioning Penn State at the forefront of institutions embedding comprehensive AI literacy into the undergraduate experience and in preparing our community to lead thoughtfully in an evolving technological landscape. I want to thank the AI Coordinating Council for their ongoing leadership and the instructional designers who developed this curriculum, with the support of subject matter experts, for our community.”
Michigan State, University of Michigan face over 60% cut under state funding bill - Ben Unglesbee, Higher Ed Dive
Michigan lawmakers are mulling huge cuts — over 60% of operational funding — for the state’s two largest universities, according to a legislative analysis of a measure that advanced in the Republican-led House on Wednesday. An appropriations bill originally passed by the House’s higher education subcommittee last week would gut funding for Michigan State University by $208.9 million and University of Michigan-Ann Arbor by $233.4 million.. The House’s appropriations committee on Wednesday included the plan in a larger budget bill that it sent for floor consideration.
Monday, May 4, 2026
Universities urged to prepare students for AI‑driven economy - Jamaica Gleaner
A pointed warning about the future of work and education took centre stage as the Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM), UWI, Mona brought together leaders from academia and industry to confront a pressing question: is the Caribbean truly ready for the age of artificial intelligence? At the recent George Willie Lecture Series, David Marchick, Dean of the Kogod School of Business at American University, delivered a forceful address urging universities to rethink how they prepare students for a rapidly evolving, AI-driven global economy. Speaking on “AI in Higher Education: Strategies for Producing AI-Ready Graduates”, Marchick argued that the implications of artificial intelligence extend far beyond technology programmes. “AI is going to change everything – how we work, how we learn, how we interact. It won’t replace human talent, but those who understand AI will have a clear advantage. Our responsibility is to ensure every graduate is AI fluent, regardless of discipline.”
4 higher education leaders on AI’s biggest benefits and risks - Laura Spitalniak, Higher Ed Dive
Artificial intelligence is rapidly progressing and poised to reshape the workforce in the near future. The higher education sector is in a unique position, as both an employer of millions of workers and a system that prepares students for the labor force. At the annual ASU+GSV Summit last week, four college leaders talked to Higher Ed Dive to weigh in on two questions: What about AI’s use in higher education are you most excited for? And what has you most concerned?
Research cuts are now having a chilling effect on academia - Alcino Donadel, University Business
Some experts see early and dire consequences for the science and education research community. “We’ve been hearing about the cuts coming down, but this spring, you’re really starting to see the effects,” says Chenjerai Kumanyika, assistant professor at New York University and council member for the American Association of University Professors. In February, Congress passed a fiscal year 2026 spending package that rejected Trump’s proposed 40% cuts to the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the Department of Energy. While the agencies saw most of their budgets restored, the Trump administration has stalled in releasing the funds.As of March 24, the NIH has only awarded 15% of its nearly $40 billion budget in academic research to institutions, according to a report from the Association of Medical Colleges.
Friday, May 1, 2026
YouTube expands its AI likeness detection technology to celebrities - Sarah Perez, TechCrunch
YouTube is expanding its new “likeness detection” technology, which identifies AI-generated content, such as deepfakes, to people within the entertainment industry, the company announced on Tuesday. The technology works similarly to YouTube’s existing Content ID system, which detects copyright-protected material in users’ uploaded videos, allowing rights owners to request removal or share in the video’s revenue. Likeness detection does the same, but for simulated faces. The feature is meant to help protect creators and other public figures from having their identities used without their permission — a common problem for celebrities who find their likenesses have been used in scam advertisements.
College Students Are More Polarized Than Ever. Can AI Help? - Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher Ed
Over the past few years, higher education institutions have adopted emerging artificial intelligence tools in an effort to enhance nearly every aspect of campus life—not just teaching and learning but also admissions, alumni networks, fundraising and advising. Now some are even experimenting with AI’s ability to advance one of the hottest trends on college campuses: fostering constructive dialogue among students, who are more divided over politics now than at any point in the past 40 years. To help bridge those divides, colleges are increasingly partnering with organizations aimed at promoting civil dialogue, including Braver Angels, BridgeUSA, the Institute for Citizens and Scholars, and the Constructive Dialogue Institute. And lately, AI is becoming part of the conversation.
This is the fastest-growing job for young workers, LinkedIn says - Mary Cunningham, CBS News
As the rise of artificial intelligence stirs anxiety over the technology taking people's jobs, AI is also opening pathways to new careers, according to LinkedIn. The fastest-growing job title for young workers on the networking platform is "AI engineer," a recent report from the company found. LinkedIn analyzed millions of member profiles to determine the number of entry-level workers hired over the last three years and the roles they were hired to fill. "It's measuring momentum for these job titles," said Kory Kantenga, the head of economics, Americas, at LinkedIn. "Companies are just gorging on AI talent."
Thursday, April 30, 2026
AI fears drive some young adults to grad school — ‘people shelter in higher education,’ expert says - Jessica Dickler, CNBC
Typically, enrollment in graduate school increases during recessions as workers seek to advance or to move to another industry with better career prospects or pay. Today, more people in a survey said they plan to go back to school within a year, even though the economy is doing well. Experts say young adults are exploring this option largely because they are worried about their job prospects despite the economy.
Learn essential AI skills - Google Skills Lab
We're building AI skills programs, trainings, and tools to address the specific needs of workers everywhere. Discover Google's courses and resources designed to help you succeed in an AI-driven world. Check out this free resource site from Google.
Students are speeding through their online degrees in weeks, alarming educators - Todd Wallack, Washington Post
It takes most college students at least four years to earn a bachelor’s degree. Christie Williams finished in three months. The North Carolina human resources executive spent two months racking up credits through web tutorials after work in 2024, then raced through 11 online classes at the University of Maine at Presque Isle in four weeks. Later that year, she went back to earn her master’s — in just five weeks. The two degrees cost a total of just over $4,000. Many U.S. schools have been experimenting with ways to speed up traditional college programs to reduce the burgeoning cost and help students move into the workforce faster. Some offer three-year bachelor’s programs, reducing the number of credits needed for a diploma by one quarter. Many more allow students to enroll in college classes while still in high school.But the breakneck pace of the fastest online programs concerns some academics, who say there is a big difference in what students can learn in weeks or months compared with three or more years.
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Is Your AI Ethical, Human-Centered and Pro-Social? - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed
Many of us utilize AI daily in our higher education work, yet we may not have assessed the ethical and human-centered nature of the tool we have selected and trained through our prompts. AI tools are no longer a relatively simple search engine that is driven by marketing metrics to help us conduct our research. Rather, with AI we are using more sophisticated tools that conduct research and seek answers to our prompting while making source-selection decisions, contextual settings and semantic subtleties that impact the values expressed in the results. Before we look at the default values and orientations inherent in some of the leading AI models, let me remind you that in crafting your prompt, you can encourage the tool to put an emphasis on generating responses that include orientations and perspectives that address ethical considerations. Your prompt can direct the model to provide results that explore, highlight or emphasize pro-social or human-centered solutions and examples.
Rewired 2.0: How leading companies are (still) winning with AI - McKinsey
Companies that successfully transform with AI can boost their EBITDA by roughly 20 percent, according to Rewired: How Leading Companies Win with Technology and AI. In this newly released second edition of the Rewired bestseller, five McKinsey leaders draw on more than 30 case studies to show how organizations turn AI ambition into measurable value. As the pace of technology accelerates—and expectations rise—the book zeroes in on what it takes to truly “rewire” a company today: aligning leadership, redesigning operating models, and building the capabilities that turn AI into sustained advantage. Explore the latest interview with three of the authors, McKinsey Senior Partners Eric Lamarre, Kate Smaje, and Robert Levin, and the below insights to learn how leading companies are winning with AI.
Provost's office funds 24 transformative initiatives - Rob Schweers, Iowa State University
The office of the senior vice president and provost has announced $2.4 million in funding across two years for 24 transformative initiatives to support new academic programs, student success and career readiness, and build additional capacity in artificial intelligence (AI). Senior vice president and provost Jason Keith announced the one-time funding initiative in December, and proposals were due in early February. "We were very impressed with both the quality and innovation of the proposals, as well as their connection to Iowa State's strategic plan," Keith said. "At their core, the projects create new opportunities for students, faculty, staff and Iowans; support future enrollment growth; and help navigate changing environments for research funding and community engagement, all while supporting the university's land-grant mission." Proposals were reviewed and ranked by unit leaders (deans, directors, vice presidents) and forwarded to the provost's office for final consideration. Projects with common themes, such as AI, micro-credentials and custom education, will coordinate efforts and meet regularly to share progress and challenges, and help ensure their work can be applied broadly across the university.
Provost's office funds 24 transformative initiatives - Rob Schweers, Iowa State University
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
New microcredentials launched to meet workforce and adult learner needs - University of Southern Indiana
The University of Southern Indiana has launched a new slate of undergraduate and graduate microcredential programs, expanding flexible, short‑term learning options for working professionals, adult learners and students seeking targeted skill development. Introduced in fall 2025 and expanding in 2026, USI’s microcredentials align with the University’s core value of transformative learning and reflect a growing demand for accessible, career‑focused education delivered in an online format. The microcredentials offer multiple entry points throughout the year, several of which will begin for the first time this summer and fall. Additional offerings are still in planning phases. “We are honored to offer these new short-term academic credentials to current, past and future USI students to support their career advancement,” said Dr. Brian Crose, Assistant Dean of Online and Adult Learning at USI. “Our focus is to provide knowledge and skills needed in the workplace that are attainable within only a few months, rather than years. This ties into our vision for boldly transforming the lives of our students.”
As AI pushes students to reconsider majors, universities struggle to adapt - Lexi Lonas Cochran, the Hill
A recent poll shows AI’s increasing role in how students decide on college majors, creating a rapidly developing situation for universities that are still struggling to determine how the technology will shape higher education. The Lumina Foundation-Gallup 2026 State of Higher Education survey found 47 percent of currently enrolled college students have thought about switching majors “a great deal” or a “fair amount” over AI concerns. Forty percent of the AI job losses will occur in Texas, California, New York, Florida and Illinois, the researchers predict. And young people are predicted to take the biggest hits from AI since experts say it could largely take over entry level work.
Nation’s first Online J.D. Program graduates share special camaraderie at St. Mary’s Law - Nathaniel Miller, St. Mary's University
Together, the cohort known as Section O is the inaugural group for the law school’s Online J.D. Program. When it launched in Fall 2022, it was the first fully online J.D. program accredited by the American Bar Association. Now, additional law schools have followed the St. Mary’s Law example with their own online programs. Created to give non-traditional students an opportunity to obtain a law degree outside a classroom setting in a part-time program, Section O was filled with myriad students, many of whom worked full time and had families.Now, the School of Law has three more cohorts, each starting in the fall, and capped at 25 students. “St. Mary’s made it possible for Section O to pursue a legal education without stepping away from service,” said Martinez, Texas state representative for District 39, representing Hidalgo County. “The program demanded discipline and focus and is a proud reminder that, with the right structure, working professionals can achieve excellence while continuing to serve their communities.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)