Skills, experience and AI literacy key to graduate success

A degree may open the door to a career, but what candidates can do with their knowledge can determine whether they stand out, highlighted experts during a panel at Gulf News Edufair.

Speakers said employers increasingly value adaptability, communication, problem-solving, digital and AI literacy, resilience and the ability to keep learning. They also stressed that these capabilities cannot be developed overnight. Schools, universities, employers and parents all have a role to play in helping young people understand their strengths, gain practical experience and build a profile before they graduate.

Prof. Sathish Kannan, Dean, School of Engineering, Architecture and Interior Design at Amity University Dubai, said skill development should begin well before students reach university.

“In the first five grades, it is the responsibility of teachers not to dump knowledge, but to engage students in the classroom and provide feedback on their strengths and areas where they can improve. This creates a well-rounded path towards success,” Prof. Kannan said.

He said schools also need to give students opportunities to understand themselves through critical thinking and reflection.

“Schools are often more focused on curriculum development and knowledge transfer than on helping students understand themselves, practise, and reflect on their own ways of doing things. Critical thinking and self-reflection have to start at a very young age so students can recognise what they are good at and where they can develop.”

Prof. Kannan said this process should continue through middle and senior school, helping students make more informed decisions about university and careers.

“Self-reflection should start in middle and senior school, before students enter university,” he said.

At Amity University Dubai, he said students are given a skills matrix covering areas including digital, social, leadership and technical skills, alongside an aspiration form that asks what they want to become.

Helping students identify their strengths is particularly important for those who arrive at university without a clear career direction, Prof. Kannan said.

“We help these students begin a journey of self-reflection by asking them to sit down and understand what they are good at doing. That is the first thing everybody has to figure out.” 

Dr Riham Ahmed Ibrahim, Associate Professor and Chairperson in-charge of the Pathology Department at RAK Medical and Health Sciences University (RAKMHSU), said students should also develop an employment mindset from the beginning of their university journey.

“From their first day at medical college, we tell students to start building their portfolio and developing their skills. If you are going to be employed after graduation, you need to have that mindset from day one.”

She said universities can support students through advising, workshops and practical learning, while developing communication, leadership, teamwork and presentation skills alongside technical knowledge.

Dr Kulangara Jacob Johnson, Director of the Center for Design & Innovation for Public Purpose at the American School of Dubai, said the bigger challenge is changing how students think about learning and skills. 

“One critical skill for students to develop is learning how to learn and not stopping there. It is learning how to learn with agility, and that is what is going to drive transformation in this era.” 

Dr Johnson said AI is making it harder to define a fixed list of skills that will remain relevant. 

“Exponential challenges in this world cannot be solved by linear solutions. What that means is that defining a finite set of skills is no longer going to be valid. Think about what you can do with AI. Almost every question you put to AI can be answered. The magic lies in the human.”

Dr Johnson said students therefore need to develop judgement, creativity and the confidence to act, rather than becoming dependent on technology.

“I look at networking and internships as laboratories of building judgment. AI is another enabler, another tool that is available to us. Rather than using AI to provide answers to all our questions and possibilities, I see it as a thought partner – something you can bounce your ideas off.”

Prof Kannan said one of the most important abilities students can develop is the habit of observing problems closely.

“It is all about the power of observation, but necessity actually defines the outcome of your observation. I usually say this when I talk to science and engineering students: observation is innovation.”

He said students who learn to notice small problems and understand the needs behind them are better positioned to find solutions. 

“When we observe something and break that observation down to understand the need and connect it to problem-solving, that is where innovation begins. If we fail to observe, we fail to recognise the problem. And when we fail to recognise the problem, there is no solution.”

Dr Ibrahim said AI literacy must go beyond knowing how to use tools. Students need to understand their limitations and use them responsibly.

“It is our responsibility as a university to transform students’ mindset from using AI as an ordinary user to using it as professionals and future doctors.”

She said students are taught how to evaluate AI-generated information rather than accepting it without question.

“Students cannot simply copy and paste everything from AI into an assignment and expect it to be accepted. We educate them on how to use AI and, importantly, how to evaluate it. This is where critical thinking becomes very important, because even AI itself will tell you that it can make mistakes.”

Amanda Fernandes, Manager, Centre for Careers and Employability at Middlesex University Dubai, said the value of AI lies in how effectively students apply it to their work. 

“When we talk about digital and AI skills, it is not only about using ChatGPT, Claude and other tools. It is about using AI to make your life easier and better, or to do research better within your domain.”

The panel also stressed the importance of real-world exposure.

Dr Ibrahim said internships should not be treated as the student’s responsibility alone. “Internships are a shared responsibility, not just the responsibility of students. Communication between the university, students and employers is very important.”

Dr Johnson said schools should give students opportunities to experiment with real problems. At the American School of Dubai, he described a programme in which students move from identifying a problem to ideation, prototyping, testing, branding and pitching, before working with people outside the classroom.

“The idea behind this is agency: build agency, believe in agency and develop agency in our students.” 

As students move closer to graduation, being able to demonstrate their skills and experience becomes increasingly important, Fernandes said.

She urged students to use their time at university to develop a profile that sets them apart from other graduates.

“Profile building is what can distinguish you from the person sitting next to you, someone at another university or someone who already has a year of work experience.”

Fernandes also encouraged students to build their networks and identify a distinctive area of interest. 

“Find your niche while building your portfolio. Do not be basic. Try to build something different into your portfolio.”