Research shows that C-level executives are looking for support in technology in order to maintain the market positions of their companies. They are turning to education programs to fill the knowledge gap they have in understanding how to implement technology and have the right type of hiring for the digital age.
This is the aim of the AI4PPP project, "Artificial Intelligence for People, Planet, and Profit”: to create a state-of-the-art and transferable training program in AI on the basis of both a gap analysis and a DACUM analysis. This will include a training curriculum and learning materials based on implementing AI-empowered scenarios in chosen industries. Through the project piloting that will take place, the training program will be framed around certification validation based on the micro-credentials concept. We and our project partners believe that universities in general, and MBA programs in particular, can significantly raise the awareness of leaders in the public and private sectors regarding the potential of the cautious, but also determined, applicative possibilities of AI. This is why our project targets MBA students. We firmly believe the future of Europe's economic growth is based on the value that data can sustainably bring, and supports the wellbeing of people, the planet, and profit all at the same time.
The project is funded by the Agency for Mobility and European Union Programs, led by Algebra University College, and partnered with the Faculty of Applied Social Studies from Nova Gorica, Slovenia; and Universidad de Alcalá from Spain, as all three are renown research centers in the field of digital transformation. The project started on January 1st, 2022, and will end on the first of January 2025. The educational modules, created as part of the project, will include the basic context and vocabulary of AI, its technical and social ramifications, and will describe the potential that results from the incorporation of AI into all fields of endeavor.
As our first project outcome, we have currently completed our gap analysis and have reported in detail the challenges faced by different stakeholders when attempting to develop an approachable curriculum for AI and its potential, particularly for these groups: 1) HEIs, with their MBA courses, where the focus is on attempting to identify the current level of educational modules available and the challenges faced in trying to keep pace with AI, and 2) the business sector, and current market needs both in partner countries and on a European level. The gap analysis coincided with the educational recommendations for project implementation.
The second project result, the DACUM analysis, which is a widely used international method of job analysis devised in the 1960s, has been completed for this project to the point where worker traits, and general knowledge and skills have been charted. This has cut the cost compared to conducting job surveys by mail, and has more accuracy. Currently, the duties and tasks for occupations will direct the training program to be created, with more steps still outstanding to this analysis.
Finally, we have also completed the 3rd project result, Syllabi Development, which will include three major syllabus components: the syllabus as a contract, the syllabus as a permanent record, and the syllabus as a learning tool, each containing aspects of the course syllabus which is usually discussed during the first session of class.
Presently we are working on the 5th project result, which is the development of the educational materials, using an output-based approach based on learning outcomes and units of learning marked by course credits. This type of outline will be very accessible to our major stakeholders, HEIs, and industries directly interested in the topic of AI. The modules are broken down in a way to be immediately implemented in an “off the shelf” approach to either create new programs of study or reinforce those already existing in adult training. Furthermore, we are looking to complete project results 5 through 7 during the 36-month duration of the project, as we hope to implement the confidence and skills that education institutions can impart to our main target business stakeholders, to avoid looking to big tech vendors and understanding that they need to adapt their mindsets rather than looking for short-term answers often provided through advertisements of big tech.
Through AI4PP, we will create an inclusive ecosystem to eradicate the fear common to AI myths as we address the current demand in the fields of AI R&D which is predicted to grow exponentially within the next ten years. This we will achieve through our project by bridging the gap between AI development demands and the business sector that needs to keep up with them.
Find out more at https://www.ai4ppp.eu/