Gulf News Edufair: AI will fuel demand for highly skilled educators

Universities will require highly-skilled professors to deal with the growing implementation of artificial intelligence in higher education, according to Omar Al Fandi, Associate Dean and Professor at the College of Technological Innovation at Zayed University.

“We will need more skilled educators than ever before because people will need to make sure the information and innovation being given by AI tools is being used effectively and ethically,” he said while speaking at the Gulf News Edufair.

When asked whether students will use AI for gaining knowledge instead of staying in higher education, Al Fandi said AI will keep students in universities because, “it has the ability to accurately predict a student’s career path based on personal profiles with information such as their abilities, skills and personality traits.”

He continued, “AI will help a student decide what their higher education future is by using information to suggest which courses and training are most suitable to help them achieve their goals.”

Al Fandi was speaking as part of the ‘What’s next for generative AI in higher education?’ panel discussion. Also on the panel was Dr. Khouloud Salameh, Department Chair and Assistant Professor of Computer Science, American University of Ras Al Khaimah. “The business of higher education will continue to thrive with the implantation of AI in higher education courses,” she said. “There will always been a need for educators for the validation of learning, AI is not here to replace professors.”

AI is already considered a core subject in many universities in Dubai and has been made part of various courses throughout the UAE, as students are actively using tools like ChatGPT, to aid their learning; something, which Dr Salameh says is helpful but needs to be used wisely.

“The problem with some AI tools is they don’t take ethical things into consideration so we still need the human input to make sure they’re being used properly in higher education.”

The fifth edition of the Gulf News Edufair is taking place at the Conrad Hotel, Dubai, and offers students a place to learn about the opportunities for their next step via exhibitions, panel discussions and interactive workshops with educators and career counsellors.