Include artificial intelligence in school curricula, say experts

Technology experts have stressed the need for schools to prepare students for tomorrow's jobs by increasingly teaching them artificial intelligence (AI) skills to an adequate level. Necip Ozyucel, Cloud and Enterprise Business Group Lead, Microsoft Gulf, said the latest World Economic Forum's'Future of Jobs' report, released in January this year showed that two in three children starting school this year are destined for professional roles yet to be created. "There is an urgent need to recognise that many of the jobs referred to by the World Economic Forum, are supported by artificial intelligence," Ozyucel told Khaleej Times in an exclusive interview. A recent survey by McKinsey & Company on specialist education practice - where 2,000 students, 2,000 teachers and 70 thought leaders across the Americas, Europe and Asia including the Gulf region were interviewed - found that students would be better prepared for'future jobs' if they shored up their soft skills, particularly the social and emotional. And only 42 per cent of employers consider today's graduates as having developed those attributes to an adequate level, according to Ozyucel, "When trying to determine the best approaches to bridge these soft-skills gaps, there is evidence in both studies that students and teachers alike favour collaborative learning scenarios. Mentor-led class discussions or group-learning scored consistently high as the most effective methods of learning," said Ozyucel.