AI is moving fast. Can education keep up?
Universities are struggling to keep up with the rapidly evolving AI ecosystem, with professors admitting that the curriculum is outdated. Students are having to take extra steps outside the classroom to gain relevant skills and stay competitive in the job market.
Universities are falling behind the rapidly evolving AI ecosystem, even according to professors. Dr. Chen Zhao, assistant professor in the computer science department at Baylor, said the things students learn in school are outdated. The release of ChatGPT in 2022 sparked a flurry of breakthroughs in large language models and AI agents, creating a disparity between newly relevant skills and what's taught in the classroom. Baylor senior Omar Darwish, an incoming data engineer for IBM, had to do most of his AI learning outside the classroom, seeking research opportunities and landing multiple internships. Darwish and Zhao agreed that Baylor's curriculum is outdated, but Darwish noted that the lack of a 'build culture' is the real challenge. Students are encouraged to start projects outside the classroom at schools like the University of Waterloo and Georgia Tech. Baylor students are still gaining relevant skills, with Carter Lewis, a software engineering intern at Texas Farm Bureau Insurance, saying that classroom lessons teach students how to learn new technologies and stay on pace.
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