Employability Preparedness of International Students for an Era of Artificial Intelligence
| Dates: | 11 April 2024 |
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| Times: | 13:00 - 14:30 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | School of Arts, Languages and Cultures |
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| Speaker: | Dr Yao Wang , Dr Thinh Pham |
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Artificial intelligence (AI) is shaping the future of work, potentially replacing human jobs, and risking many job categories (West, 2018; Poba-Nzaou et al., 2021). In higher education, AI has transformed teaching methods, offering students numerous opportunities for distance learning, mobile applications, social media interaction, and personalised digital resources (Gleason, 2018; Zeeshan et al., 2022). However, the assumption that all students are tech-savvy is mistaken (Williams et al., 2020); they require additional support to proficiently use technology and adapt to future work challenges post-graduation.
Our study explores students' perspectives on how current pedagogical approaches and employability support prepare them for societal transformations in the AI era. We argue that taking students' awareness and understanding of AI developments for granted is inappropriate; instead, it is crucial to innovate pedagogical practices and employability support to avoid marginalising students or overlooking their needs amidst the AI's rapid evolution in education and future workplaces.
Conducted in two phases with UK undergraduate and postgraduate students, the first phase involved 55 participants answering open-ended questions, highlighting the value of hands-on AI experience and problem-solving skills. Students also expressed a desire for soft skills development, such as communication and critical thinking, to enhance their competitiveness against AI. The second phase, still in progress, focuses on in-depth interviews with about 15 students (7 interviews being conducted) to identify specific strengths and improvement areas in pedagogy for future work in the AI era.
Speakers
Dr Yao Wang
Role: Lecturer in Intercultural Communication and Education
Organisation: Newcastle University
Biography: Dr Yao Wang is Lecturer in Intercultural Communication and Education at Newcastle University, having previously worked as Research Associate at the University of East Anglia and the University of Sheffield. Her research interests include international and comparative education, educational technology, and cross-cultural communication. She is particularly interested in the internationalisation of Higher Education (HE), with a focus on the adjustment, adaptation, and employability of international students. She is involved in various projects related to decolonisation, equality, diversity, and inclusion within HE contexts. She researches the digital play of children and the life experiences of rural-to-urban migrants and their offspring in China.
Dr Thinh Pham
Role: Lecturer in the School of Psychology and Neuroscience
Organisation: University of Glasgow
Biography: Dr Thinh Pham is a Lecturer in the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Glasgow. He obtained his PhD and MA degrees from Newcastle University, and completed his undergraduate study at Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City. His research primarily focuses on thinking skills, social and cross-cultural psychology, the psychology of bilingualism and multilingualism, pedagogy, and employability.
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A113
Samuel Alexander Building
Manchester
