eSTEeM

Centre for Scholarship and Innovation

AI skills and knowledge for employability

    Project leader(s):  Catherine Rolph Miguel Valdez Matthew Cook

  • Theme:  Technologies for STEM learning
  • Project faculties:  STEM
  • Status:  Current
  • Date:  to

The UK education system and employers must adapt to ensure that individuals in the workforce possess the knowledge and skills required to harness the potential benefits of advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) (DfE, 2023). Rather than viewing Generative AI (Gen AI) as a tool which may undermine education, this proposal focuses on how to equip OU STEM students to effectively use AI in their workplace. This is important as AI is a foundational technology, integrated across all STEM sectors, and is likely to have a widespread effect on the UK economy and society. It has been estimated that 10-30% of jobs are automatable (DfE, 2023), with Gen AI having the potential to increase productivity and create new high-value jobs in the UK economy.  As such this proposal aligns with eSTEeM priority area 5 Technology Enhanced Learning by identifying AI skills valued by employers and trialling activities for their teaching, development and assessment.

This project will investigate the current and expected needs of Gen AI skills for employability that can be embedded into teaching materials. It will identify AI skills gaps in selected Engineering and Innovation (E&I) curricula (e.g. engineering, technology management, systems thinking in practice) and test a range of potential approaches for teaching, developing and assessing AI skills. 

Phase one of the project will include reviewing relevant academic literature and existing frameworks and policy to identify potential AI skills E&I students need to develop. We will hold a workshop with employers identified through E&I industrial advisory boards to feedback our findings so far and gather information about additional skills relevant to specific subjects e.g. engineering, technology management etc.

Phase two will use the Board of Studies (BoS) and qualification leads to assess the suitability of existing AI skills frameworks, identify current skills gaps in selected curricula and outline activities for teaching, development and assessment of AI skills. 

Phase three activities will focus on iterative co-design with students to produce a short learning resource in OpenLearn Create. The learning resource will include readings as well as activities to Teach, Develop and Assess essential AI skills identified in stages 1 and 2 of this research.  We will also consider how other HEI’s and learned societies are teaching AI, looking at whether pilots are taking place elsewhere that could inform the development of the learning resources.

Anticipated outcomes include:

  1. Evaluation of current frameworks and guidance around Gen AI skills for employability, assessing their relevance and application to E&I.
  2. Identifying skills gaps in current curricula.
  3. Developing and testing activities for teaching, development and assessment of Gen AI skills. 
  4. Evaluation of the success of the trial, exploration of relevance to other areas of STEM, and dissemination of findings to module teams across E&I, supporting and potentially improving their teaching of AI skills.

STEM AI leads have been given an opportunity to comment on this proposal.