Dr. Ashraf Mahate Consultant, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD); Academic Advisory Board, Studiosity; Host, Reimagining Higher Education Podcast
Dr. Ashraf Mahate
Consultant, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD);
Academic Advisory Board, Studiosity;
Host, Reimagining Higher Education Podcast
Recent conversations with university leaders across the Gulf produced revelations about AI value streams, academic trust, and preparing work-ready graduates. The question that provoked those conversations was: What happens when a student can produce an A-grade essay in under a minute using the latest AI technology? That question is forcing university leaders around the world to rethink one of higher education’s oldest assumptions: If knowledge is now freely available and AI can generate sophisticated answers instantly, what exactly is the purpose of a university?
This year, I have been interviewing university leaders for the Studiosity Reimagining Higher Education podcast series. The expert guests have included Chancellors and Presidents from Abu Dhabi University, RIT Dubai, the American University of Ras Al Khaimah, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, and Bahrain Polytechnic. Several clear themes have emerged throughout these discussions, supporting the conclusion that higher education is undergoing a fundamental transformation. The core value of a university can no longer just be transmitting knowledge; it must lie in building human capacity, critical judgment, ethical responsibility, and adaptability.
Process over product: shifts to redefine assessment and integrity
The traditional assessment structure that has relied heavily on examinations, or final essays that are worth a major portion of a course grade, is no longer viable when generative AI models can produce polished submissions in seconds. Almost every university leader I interviewed returned to the same concern: higher education must shift its focus from evaluating the final product to scrutinizing and quantifying the underlying learning process itself.
When I asked Dr. Hamad Odhabi, Vice Chancellor for AI and Operational Excellence at Abu Dhabi University, how universities could assess learning in the age of AI, he felt that assignments must evolve into iterative learning journeys with continuous checkpoints, oral presentations, and practical evidence of understanding. Similarly, H. E. Dr. Mansoor Al Awar, Chancellor of Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, concluded that the solution to AI is not better detection software but better assessment. He advocates for a “proof of work” approach, where educators evaluate how students develop their ideas through drafts, reflections and discussion, rather than judging only the final submission. It is a model built on trust, transparency and authentic learning.
These shifts directly address ongoing concerns regarding academic integrity. As reported in the Khaleej Times, heavy-handed digital surveillance and unreliable AI-detection tools often produce false positives, which leave university students facing “an unexpected layer of anxiety—the fear of being misunderstood by a machine.” To counter this, leaders are calling for educator and student trust that is backed by deliberate assessment design.
Prof. Ciarán Ó Catháin, CEO of Bahrain Polytechnic, challenged the traditional divide between universities and industry. He explained that the Polytechnic’s 3C model—co-governance, co-creation and co-delivery with industry—helps to shape what students learn. He also emphasized authentic assessments, such as viva voce examinations and project discussions, as better ways to verify learning than relying on AI-detection tools.
Curriculum agility and the AI value stream
Adapting to this fast-moving technological disruption requires universities to overhaul their historically rigid, slow-moving review cycles. Prof. Bassam Alameddine explained that, to address this urgency, The American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK) replaced the traditional five-year strategic plan with a compressed three-year strategy, to adapt quickly to AI disruption and ensure their course delivery remains immediately relevant. More importantly, he believes higher education must prepare graduates for careers that will continually evolve by focusing on qualities that AI cannot replace: curiosity, humility, resilience, teamwork and critical thinking.
When I asked Prof. Khalid Khawaja, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs ofRIT Dubai, how universities should respond to AI, he compared higher education to software engineering. Just as software evolves through agile development, he argued, curricula must become more dynamic. His concept of an AI Value Stream ensures students first master the fundamentals before progressively integrating AI into their discipline. The message was clear that universities must evolve as quickly as the technology they teach.
At Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, one way AI integration extends to institutional operations is through agentic AI assistants for faculty members. By automating routine administrative tasks, curriculum changes, and question bank generation, these AI agents eliminate up to 95% of the routine admin that so often burdens academics and staff. This operational efficiency frees educators to dedicate their time to high-impact research, student mentoring, and critical instruction. Bahrain Polytechnic, for example, operationalizes curriculum agility through its 3C model. By embedding industry leaders directly within advisory boards and syllabus design, academic programs remain continuously aligned with the real-world market’s demands and shifts
The human differentiator and the skills economy
As generative AI (genAI) and bots can increasingly handle routine administrative tasks, educational leaders warn of an emerging graduate employability problem. If AI automates junior, entry-level tasks, universities must come up with other ways for their students to build early-career practical experience.
Addressing this challenge requires centering higher education around the irreplaceable human attributes described earlier, such as curiosity and creative thinking. To cultivate these traits, institutions are focusing on experiential learning, interdisciplinary capstone projects, and embedded professional certifications. Encouraging an entrepreneurial mindset can also empower students to create new opportunities for themselves, rather than just seeking employment.
Globally, and also in the Gulf region, higher education is transitioning from a static certificate economy to a dynamic skills economy. A single degree completed in early adulthood is no longer the conclusion of an educational journey. As these university leaders of the Gulf region observe, a degree must function more as the foundation for lifelong learning, supported by micro-credentials, continuous workplace upskilling, and ongoing academic partnerships throughout a professional career.
What surprised me most was not that every university is investing heavily in AI. That was expected. The surprise was that almost none of the leaders saw AI as the biggest challenge. Instead, they spoke about trust, judgment, curiosity and human capability. Reimagining higher education requires institutions and their leaders to rethink how education is delivered for the modern world. By incorporating process-based assessment, agile curricular mapping, and deep industry collaboration, university leaders can navigate and embrace AI-driven disruption while preserving the enduring value of a higher education degree.