Ep. 41 The View Without the Climb: Skills in the Age of AI with Ciarán Dunne
What should universities teach when information is abundant, AI can produce polished work in seconds, and graduates are entering an increasingly uncertain world? In this episode, we talk with Dr. Ciarán Dunne, Transversal Skills Director at Dublin City University, about DCU’s ambitious effort to formally integrate skills such as critical thinking, ethical decision making, creativity, collaboration, personal agility, and data literacy across university programs. Ciarán defines “transversal skills” and compares them to the familiar language of “soft skills.” He argues that developing these capabilities shouldn’t be confused with reducing higher education to job training, and why AI has made this work even more urgent. We also compare and contrast the higher education system in Ireland vs. California and the US more broadly.
Dunne, The case against ‘soft skills’
Dunne, The problem with ‘future-proofing’
Dunne, The perils of living in an attention economy
Thoughts and suggestions? Email us at unfixed@meltsintoair.org
You can find the full show notes and our writing at meltsintoair.org
Subscribe to the Unfixed Newsletter—The AI Higher Ed Breakdown our bi-weekly newsletter unpacking the top news stories at the intersection of AI and higher education.