Embracing Al and entrepreneurship

The rise of tech and AI in higher education

In recent years, the rapid advancement of technology has reshaped various sectors, especially higher education.

During the pandemic, universities scrambled to incorporate and embed virtual learning through online and hybrid deliveries, supporting both academics and students through this crucial integration.

Having recently digitalised their approach, these higher education institutions now face yet another challenge, with the emergence of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI). Even at its developmental stage, embracing AI appeared inevitable. At the rate it influences us both personally and professionally, its role in our education systems is undeniable.

Nevertheless, no opportunity has ever appeared without risks. As practitioners increasingly embrace Gen AI to improve their capabilities and performance, the youth of today are left wondering what their future holds.

In a generation where competition among fresh graduates is at its peak, they must begin to determine how to shape their careers for an unknown future.

Fine-tuning the university of today

With a hint of optimism and an open-mind, these technological disruptions should bring about a crucial realisation: universities were never meant to be ‘factories’ that churn out average employees replicable by machines.

The sooner young scholars acknowledge this, the better prepared they will be to embrace future careers that leverage their immense potential.

Malaysia’s traditional education model, much like many others, which emphasises rote learning and theoretical knowledge, is now fundamental challenged.

AI’s emergence has proven to be incredibly capable in handling tasks that were once people-reliant. Just as manual labour was replaced by machines, Gen AI seems to have done the same with higher-order tasks ranging from data analysis to content creation.

These developments necessitate a re-evaluation of what truly makes our workforce valuable, and the knowledge, skills and abilities required to thrive.

Students must now recognise that their humanistic attributes — empathy, compassion, motivation, creativity, and resilience — will come to the forefront.

These qualities, essential for leadership, critical thinking, and problem-solving, are areas where career-disruptive advancements like Gen AI is unable to completely replace, or at least not without human intelligence.

Empowered by tech, but people-driven

It is important to note that these human skills are not foreign to universities.

They have long been advocated for through learning outcomes and institutional missions tied to leadership, professional, and entrepreneurial qualities.

However, the focus on cognitive abilities in evaluations and assessments, coupled with employer demands for specialisation and grades, often detracts us from this broader perspective.

Institutions must now be bold and place crucial emphasis towards fostering human-centric skills essential for students to succeed in a tech-driven world.

Professions that were traditionally technical by nature have been dramatically influenced by the technological advancements in the past decade along, and Gen AI more recently.

Students can no longer rely solely on their disciplinary expertise to appear proficient and invaluable. The growing awareness and concern are that jobs may be lost; Goldman Sachs reported that 300 million full-time jobs will be replaced by AI.

Trends such as these are clear indicators that it is essential for us to possess entrepreneurial skills to have genuine employability value, rendering entrepreneurship education vital regardless of our disciplinary backgrounds.

Nurturing entrepreneurship through education

Entrepreneurship is often misunderstood, commonly being associated solely with start-ups or business ownership.

Such assumptions lead to beliefs that entrepreneurial studies should be confined to business and commerce education. However, this is a grave misconception.

Entrepreneurs are better defined by their skills and qualities — such as risk-taking, leadership, problem-solving, and innovation — than by their achievements.

These skills, rooted in critical thinking, empathy, and creativity, are among the most difficult for tech/AI to replicate.

Technological advancements has undoubtedly influenced employers’ impression towards the workforce, shifting and evolving their expectations.

With a growing recognition that a significant portion of collecting, processing and even developing information can be automated, human intelligence will then be essential for the interpretation and development of meaningful solutions.

Individuals with entrepreneurial abilities are more adept in handling disruption, with greater resilience toward fluid career changes and challenges. These are characteristics that are naturally attributed to entrepreneurs, who aptly combine their community connections to find solutions that fit the unique and constantly evolving business landscape.

Problems that are innately human-related require the subtlety of an empathetic and ethical approach to achieve an authentic and in-depth comprehension of the social fabric involved. This importance is clearly apparent amongst Malaysian universities.

For instance, University of Malaya (UM) and National University of Malaysia (UKM) have introduced entrepreneurship modules across non-business faculties such as engineering and health sciences.

Students from various disciplines are encouraged to apply entrepreneurial thinking towards their field of study, further enhancing their technical prowess and creative abilities. Multi-disciplinary approaches like these are excellent in nurturing innovation, building graduates who are career-ready as high adaptable problem solvers.

Entrepreneurial skills need to be crucially developed to ensure students obtain valuable, transferable skills that will remain relevant throughout their careers amidst unknown challenges and disruptions that their future will inevitably hold. What is crucial is for these higher education entrepreneurship initiatives to not be limited to business schools.

Students in general should be encouraged to think and develop entrepreneurially. In fact, students that are able to combine their disciplinary specialisation with business acumen are also able to develop creativity and an entrepreneurial mindset.

The entrepreneurial mindset, our future workforce

Our careers are in a state of constant evolution, experiencing an assortment of market forces beyond anyone’s control.

With today’s AI highly adept at automating routine tasks, employers will instead prioritise hiring graduates who can interpret information, develop meaningful solutions, and navigate complex, human-centred problems.

Equipped with an entrepreneurial mindset, people

will become more capable, connected and complete in tackling issues that are unique and ever-changing. This is an evolution that the industry and fellow professionals can no longer ignore.

The future of our workforce will begin to hinge significantly upon the unique traits and values that an entrepreneurial mindset will offer, influenced endlessly by technology advancements.

Recruitment and human resource development approaches need to be revamped to embrace a tech-driven era.

Leaders and employers will do well to attract people-oriented talents with resilience, empathy, and collaborative abilities.

These entrepreneurial values complement technological prowess and critical thinking to create holistic problem-solvers, which are rare finds in world that grows more complex by the day.

Challenges that lie ahead

However, adopting this shift in education will not come without challenges. Universities must be equipped with educators capable of delivering entrepreneurial education and preparing students for a dynamic future.

On the positive side, new technologies like Gen AI will make this transition easier by empowering students with its immense content generation and information processing capabilities to further enhance analytical and creative mindsets.

The other challenge lies in establishing strong industry connections to support these programmes. Such connections are crucial for providing students with real-world mentorship, experience, and exposure.

These opportunities help students move beyond conventional thinking, fostering the maturity and humanistic qualities necessary for career development.

As such, it becomes even more essential for practitioners to be equally aware and adaptive

toward a transition of mutual benefit.  The impact of tech disruptions on the careers of today has been profound. What tomorrow holds for universities and the industry remains unknown.

What is certain is that we will always need to adapt. By embedding entrepreneurship into the curriculum and focusing on human qualities, universities can ensure that education remains relevant in developing graduates capable of making a meaningful impact on society.

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Mr Kevin Tan Tee Liang School of Business Faculty of Business, Design and Arts Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus.

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