Generative AI is rapidly transforming the workforce that college students are graduating into, and Indiana University is looking to give students a better toolkit for navigating it. On July 22, the university announced the launch of GenAI 101, a self-paced online course designed to equip IU students, faculty and staff with valuable AI skills tailored to the evolving workforce.
The course will be free to all IU students, faculty and staff and will cover AI skills like prompt engineering, AI-assisted productivity and how to fact-check AI-generated content.
The GenAI 101 program will be headed by Brian Williams, faculty chair of the Kelley School of Business’ Virtual Advanced Business Technologies Department. Williams believes that generative AI can be an asset to students from a variety of academic disciplines.
“I think about AI like a car,” Williams said. “And for this skills-based course, we’re just learning a little bit about how to drive the car.”
How will the online course be taught?
The program was built using resources from IU’s top-ranked Kelley Direct MBA online program. Prerecorded videos from Williams introduce key concepts, while an AI tutor built by IU faculty helps to conversationally interact with students and reinforce key concepts. While the course does cover some basics of how generative AI works, Williams says it’s more focused on practical application and use.
Williams said the course is divided into bite-sized videos of about 30 minutes. He says a student could complete the course in three to five hours given the time, but it’s designed to be asynchronous and work for a variety of schedules.
“One cool thing about it is that everyone’s able to use it a little differently,” Williams said.
How will the AI course prepare students for the workforce?
The course is launching at a time when AI is rapidly transforming the workforce. In a 2024 survey from Microsoft, over 70% of business leaders said they’d rather hire a less experienced candidate with AI skills than a more experienced candidate without them. According to a recent survey from Amazon of over 1,300 U.S. businesses, over 90% of businesses expect to incorporate AI into their work by 2028.
“We’re seeing more and more employers want their graduates to be comfortable with AI,” Williams said. “And that can be a bit of a challenge in areas that move so fast.”
Students who complete the GenAI 101 course will receive a certification that they can list on their resumes and LinkedIn profiles.
Because AI technology has evolved so much in the past few years, Williams said he and his staff worked quickly to develop the curriculum and ensure it’s up to date. In the future, he expects the programming to be updated to reflect changes in generative AI’s capabilities.
Still, he believes the new online module is a great way to better prepare students for a changing workforce and economy. Plus, he says, AI can be an asset in their daily lives.
“Even in their own lives, it can make getting daily tasks done a little easier and more fun,” Williams said.
Reach Brian Rosenzweig at brian@heraldt.com.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana University launching free, online AI course for students and staff
Reporting by Brian Rosenzweig, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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