At the University College of the Cayman Islands, artificial intelligence – and how the increasingly widespread field of technology will impact the world of work – has become a hot topic among educators.
“There’s training for the next generation,” explained Tamsin Deasey, UCCI’s director of marketing, communications and admissions, and an advocate for AI education.
“But then there’s retraining the people who are already in the workplace because every job role or a big percentage of job roles will adapt over the next five years, and none will be as they were before. Anything that can be automated potentially will be.”
That means transformation in how we navigate everything from banking and medicine to building software and predicting hurricanes.
The imminent need to train and retrain the workforce has driven UCCI to launch, alongside Enterprise Cayman, a digital skills certificate programme that incorporates AI competencies. Meanwhile, more than 50 UCCI faculty and staff members, encouraged by Deasey, have voluntarily completed AI coursework to advance their skillsets.
UCCI President Robert W. Robertson explains that embracing AI education is about preparing Caymanians for the changes already impacting the global workforce. The World Economic Forum estimates that 60% of jobs in advanced economies will be affected by machine learning.
“You can stick your head in the sand and say, ‘I don’t understand it. I don’t know what’s going on.’ That’s probably not a good option, especially for an education entity like UCCI,” Robertson said. “Or you can start to build some awareness and understanding of it. And we’ve taken the latter route.”
Regional host to AI business minds
This week, UCCI will become a hub of AI discussion, welcoming around 200 people, including 80 students, from across the region for a two-day conference, ‘AI – The Next Generation: Fusion of Business and Technology’, hosted jointly with the International College of the Cayman Islands.
Over two days, 21-22 Nov., the regional business conference, brought to Cayman by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education, will explore the role of new technologies in business, tech education, ethics, data privacy and women in tech.
The idea, Robertson said, is to bring together business leaders and tech experts with students and instructors, providing the opportunity to discuss workforce demands and needs.
The event features distinguished international minds, like James Stanger, CompTIA’s ‘technology evangelist’, and local business leaders like Charlie Kirkconnell of Cayman Enterprise City, Woody Foster of Foster’s, and Steve McIntosh of Cayman Finance.
Deasey will moderate a panel on women in tech, featuring Walkers Regulatory Associate Efe Avan-Nomayo, former Digicel CEO Vanessa Slowey, and Deloitte Cybersecurity Director Alexandra Forssell.
“Tech is a sector that women kind of shy away from sometimes; they feel it’s a male-driven sector. And I think AI changes that. Because AI literally is for everybody,” Deasey said.
“It touches everybody in their lives. Without a shadow of a doubt, every single person will use it. And I think that’s a good driver to encourage more women to get involved in tech.”
Robertson is hoping to continue the momentum around AI education after the conference, with an eye to developing AI curricula for Cayman’s youngest students.
“I see some states in the US developing AI strategies for education across all levels, elementary, high school, college. We really need to think about this as a vertically integrated kind of a system, so if they get to UCCI at some point in the future, they’ve got the basic skills to be able to advance further,” he said.
“It is something that’s globally competitive. Companies will be looking to hire the most competent individuals. And for us to stay as we are, a very competitive national economy, having these skills in AI and technology generally is absolutely critical or else we’ll fall behind. I don’t think there’s any question about that.”
The two-day conference, ‘AI – The Next Generation: Fusion of Business and Technology’, begins at 9am Thursday and continues Friday. Tickets are available online to attend virtually or in person at UCCI’s Sir Vassel Johnson Hall.
