My question to the higher-ed community is how should we respond? We care about giving graduates real economic power, but should we accept the new labor market that AI and other trends are forcing as the new standard? How can we empower students but offer an alternative vision for labor conditions?

But I also wonder whether universities are being expected to conform to the vision of a new labor market that the tech industry has been trying to coerce the world to accept. As they roll out more AI products, grads struggle to find quality work and employers struggle to find affordable labor.

The institution where I work faces the challenge of siloed academic units and virtually no incentive to get faculty to change their approach to education. Add to this the standard red tape of launching new experiential programs, and universities lag further and further behind industry.

While some institutions are already offering stackable credentials, supporting faculty with tools & resources, and a commitment to industry alignment, most institutions are struggling to bring experiential learning, relationship-based recruiting, and ongoing workforce development.

The white paper argues that #universities "must redefine their role to be connectors of students and society, employees and employers." Because #technology is "transforming how people live, learn, and work," higher ed must do more to align more explicitly to the needs of employers.