The AI Advantage: Leading the Charge in Upskilling.

Post by Eduvos, December 19, 2024.

Winning the prestigious PMR.africa Diamond Arrow Award for two consecutive years is a testament to our commitment to shaping potential and fostering innovation. As we lead the charge in preparing for a future shaped by artificial intelligence (AI), we remain committed in our pursuit of academic and industry excellence. 

The following article by Terry Owen, The AI Advantage: Leading the Charge in Upskilling, provides an insightful look into our strengths and achievements, highlighting the transformative impact of AI on education and the workforce. You can find the original article in the latest issue of the PMR.africa magazine.  

Meeting expectations in the new world of AI at Eduvos has become the order of the day. Accompanying the mission is a sense of urgency and excitement that is palpable everywhere.

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, driven by big data, are fuelling a Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). The effect on education both in teaching and in what people are learning is immense and growing.  

Dr Riaan Steenberg, the Director of Operations of the NetEd Group which incorporates Eduvos, acknowledges that a lot is happening in academia to evolve to keep pace with the new reality of 2024 and beyond.  

“Every new tool that was ever adopted by humans had profound impacts on how people spent their time. While nobody knows if any jobs will be lost—or created—due to artificial intelligence, it’s already clear that AI, besides being a great subject for learning, will play a role in everything we do, requiring us to upskill and prepare for the future. AI is already ubiquitous.   

“Hence the importance we place on upskilling students and lecturers. In every faculty we have integrated elements of technology and AI over the past few years, ensuring all students are aware and increasingly equipped to manage AI in their future careers,” says Dr Steenberg.  

Naturally, the emphasis on AI extends throughout all campuses, assuring faculties and administration are fully conversant with the intricacies of the AI phenomenon.  

Preparing for Our New AI Workforce 
The rapid development of Generative AI has opened the possibility of far more efficient and cost-effective use of technology to assume roles currently performed by people.  

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has estimated that artificial intelligence (AI) will replace some 85 million jobs by 2025. A study by Goldman Sachs projects that over the longer term, artificial intelligence could replace the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs. It could replace a quarter of work tasks in the U.S. and Europe. The interesting twist is that with low employment there is a dynamic where AI is likely to level the playing fields for productivity in Africa much faster probably fuelling job growth and industry creation at a faster pace than in the traditional West.   

Dr Steenberg says on the other side of the doomsday scenario, this also means new jobs and a productivity boom. And it could eventually increase the total annual value of goods and services produced globally by as much as 7 per cent and thus favour other lower-cost production options.   

“The emergence of new skills is rescaling industry,” says Dr Steenberg. “We are beginning to notice early signs of service inflation where cost rises are evident with AI obviating the need for huge workforces because of AI – making some services more expensive. At the same time micro production is a new frontier lowering goods inflation.”  

Priorities are changing within the educational scenario to support these changes.  

“Every sector and every age class has needs with respect to reskilling. New modalities of working are evident everywhere and the workforce must endure great leaps in the knowledge necessary to effectively integrate these new technologies today.”  

Eduvos is Rising to Meet the Challenge.  
Being increasingly recognised as one of the most renowned institutes of higher learning, Eduvos is spreading its wings even higher and further to promote the potential of AI and support learning about this key enabling technology.  

“We have been offering 4IR qualifications since 2020 having anticipated the need as early as 2017. This includes programmes on robotics, machine learning, cyber security and cloud computing. This has enabled us to have more than 5000 students in our IT faculty creating a skills pool for Africa to capitalise on these technologies.  

“This is the essence of our ethos, and has always been so, to train and equip students to fulfil their destinies with confidence and strong solutions and growth-oriented mindsets. This is at the heart of the Eduvos culture. It is embedded in our roots. So, we move boldly on with our mission which is shape potential – student by student – towards Africa’s prosperity.”  

Using education to transform Africa is an immense project and the complexity cannot be underestimated. However, Dr Steenberg believes that everyone can become adept in skills such as data analytics, machine learning and coding. It is to this end that Eduvos has initiated the Higher Certificate in Computing qualifications targeted at working professionals. These qualifications, offered through their School of Computing is aimed at everyone in the workforce that want to reskill and to build essential skills for everyone that feel that they jobs are becoming too technical, and they want to improve their skills to match.   

“What is stunning is the confidence that this new technology has brought to both students and lecturers. Many institutions are shying away from embracing AI, and some has taken an active anti-AI stance. At Eduvos we have embraced it and are making the most of it in all aspects of learning. The AI revolution is a worldwide phenomenon and change is inevitable. Building skills in this area are providing finesse and knowledge that will enable students to soar in their careers.”  

He says that higher education is designed to create an environment in which to steer into unchartered waters with the knowledge that our approach to a specific problem will shape the solution and that there is currently a strong need for innovative learning. At Eduvos we are experiencing new mindsets from both lecturers and students in which AI is useful to guide and support learning to a new level – offering additional support and awareness beyond what has been in the traditional textbook.  

Science and Sensibility  
Dr Steenberg says that, for instance, the institution mixes science and sensibility, soft skills and new technology into fun and functionality, so that learning has become unique.  

“This is now a community where right mindfulness encompasses great learning and emotional intelligence. These factors must be blended, essential for the unity of purpose.”   

This is played out through their flipped classroom model where everyone shares knowledge and experience around a topic and the shared exploration is a model for sensemaking and building opinions and approaches to problems within a peer-driven context.   

Eduvos continues to improve the experience for all involved and has received positive feedback in this regard.  

AI’s capacity to support students’ individualised learning experiences is one of the main advantages of higher education. Artificial intelligence-supported learning systems are capable of sifting through enormous volumes of data to pinpoint each student’s unique learning preferences, styles, and shortcomings.   

“We’ve already seen a marked 50 per cent year-over-year growth in the number of students for two years in a row. We expect this to surge to 20,000, a massive increase in students over our twelve campuses.  

“The urgency and excitement at Eduvos are palpable. You can sense it whenever you are on the campus. It’s almost unfathomable to grasp, but the joy is in our efforts to constantly strive for greatness.”  

We believe in the power of education to drive change, empower individuals, and uplift communities. Our innovative approach to integrating AI into education ensures that our students are not only prepared for the challenges of today but are also ready to lead the future. We celebrate this journey and remain committed to shaping Africa’s prosperity, student by student. 

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