Rob Telfer
Director of Higher Education EMEA, D2L
By leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), universities can close the gap between education and evolving employer expectations.
What’s the biggest challenge facing universities today? For Rob Telfer, it can be summed up in just two letters: AI.
“Since generative AI emerged into the mainstream, the shock waves in higher education have been seismic,” says Telfer, Director of Higher Education EMEA at learning innovation company D2L, creator of the Brightspace learning management system (LMS). “It’s had an impact on everything, from policy to procedure, and opened up concerns around plagiarism and academic integrity.”
This has created a troubling disconnect across higher education. While students are often told not to use AI in their assessments, AI literacy is becoming essential in the workplace and, therefore, a must-have graduate skill. Basic digital literacy is no longer enough. “Employers are going to need people who can prompt AI and evaluate its outputs, but also adapt workflows when the technology changes,” says Telfer.
However, there’s a way to square the AI circle. While it’s important for higher education institutions to be fully aware of the technology’s pitfalls — and have policies and guidelines in place to mitigate them — they should also recognise the positive impact AI can have in areas such as student support, equitable access and freeing up educators’ time.
While students are often told not to use AI in their assessments,
AI literacy is becoming essential in the workplace
Using AI as part of the teaching and learning process
“We need to destigmatise the use of gen AI and create a safe, fully transparent space where it can be used as part of the teaching and learning process,” says Telfer. “There also needs to be sufficient staff enablement and training. Because educators can’t teach AI if they don’t understand AI.”
Thankfully, technology can support closer partnerships between learning institutions and employers to ensure graduates have the skills companies need. For example, universities, colleges and corporates can use learning management systems to construct online courses and other virtual learning activities with AI literacy built into online programmes.
“These platforms offer users a multitude of synchronous and asynchronous educational opportunities,” says Telfer. “They’re a place where tuition content and learning pathways adapt in real time to individual student needs, with a suite of tools that encourage deeper engagement, comprehension, critical thinking and mastery of skills.”
Ultimately, Telfer advises educators to lean into AI, not fear it. “The institutions that will win in this new era will be the ones that invest in these new capabilities while deploying them intentionally,” he says. “Students and employees will gravitate towards educational institutions that offer them the best chance of success, including access to the best technology and the best learning opportunities.”
