INTERVIEW What will define world-class university in AI era?

gettyimagesbank

By Jung Da-hyun

• Published Jul 8, 2026 8:01 PM KST

QS execs cite graduate employability, human skills, institutional identity as new benchmarks

LONDON — Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the standard by which universities are judged.

Academic reputation alone is no longer enough. In the AI era, universities will increasingly be evaluated on whether they produce adaptable graduates with the human skills employers cannot automate, senior executives at global higher education analyst QS said.

"The role of universities is changing very quickly," Jessica Turner, CEO of QS, said in a recent interview with The Korea Times.

"Students want to know not just that they are at a university with a great reputation, but that it is preparing them with the experience they're going to need in the job market."

She noted that universities must prepare students not only for employment after graduation, but for careers that will continue to evolve alongside rapid technological change.

"Employers are looking for graduates who are very adaptable," Turner said, adding that students increasingly expect universities to prepare them for careers that will evolve alongside rapid technological change.

QS is already putting this shift into its new rankings. It has steadily increased the emphasis on graduate employment outcomes and expects employability to play an even greater role in future assessments.

This approach is reflected in the newly launched QS World Future Skills Index, which shifts the focus from university research performance to how effectively countries develop talent for the jobs of the future.

According to Matteo Quacquarelli, vice president of strategy analytics, who led the development of the index, rapid advances in AI, demographic changes and economic transformation have fundamentally altered what students, employers and governments expect from universities.

"We wanted to build a framework that enables economies around the world to benchmark their readiness for the future of work," he said. "It allows governments, university leaders, employers and students assess whether they're developing and aligning the skills needed for the future."

Instead of measuring research excellence alone, the index asks a broader question: Are universities producing the talent the future economy actually needs?

By comparing talent supply with labor market demand, it highlights skills gaps that could hinder long-term national competitiveness.

The question carries particular weight for Korea, where universities have aggressively expanded AI-focused colleges, semiconductor majors and industry-linked programs under the government's drive to become a global AI powerhouse.

But expanding new programs alone will not be enough to build globally competitive universities.

Pointing to the rapid rise of Chinese universities, Ben Sowter, senior vice president of QS, said their success has been driven less by short-term initiatives than by decades of consistent investment, international collaboration and a clear institutional strategy.

He added that China's growing economic influence has also boosted the global appeal of its universities, making them attractive not only for their research strengths but also for the career opportunities associated with learning Mandarin.

"The reality is that Mandarin is a pretty useful skill to have for anybody who hopes to be successful in the workplace anywhere in the world in the next 30 years," Sowter said.

Human skills emerge as competitive edge

While welcoming closer collaboration between universities and industry, QS executives also stressed that AI expertise alone will not determine graduates' success.

As employers increasingly move toward skills-based hiring, universities will need to equip students with more than AI literacy and technical expertise, they said. They highlighted that human-centered skills will become equally critical in the AI era.

"The proxy of a higher education institution's reputation as a signal of a student's quality is not as singular as it once was," Quacquarelli said. "Employers are combining that with a much more skills-focused hiring methodology."

He argued that universities should place equal emphasis on cultivating critical thinking, problem-solving, communication and leadership alongside AI literacy.

"The commodity that's going to be of highest value in the AI era is your ability to think critically, to problem solve, to communicate effectively and to manage people within organizations," he said.

The new index suggests Korea's challenge is not technical competence, but the broader human skills employers increasingly value. While Korean graduates perform well in technical capability and employer alignment, gaps remain in leadership, critical thinking and cognitive skills.

Turner also stressed that AI should enhance — not replace — learning. Universities, she said, must redesign teaching and assessment to ensure students can adapt, rather than rely on AI-generated answers.

"The real responsibility of the university is to ensure that students acquire critical thinking skills and subject matter expertise," she added.

Distinctive identity matters

QS cautioned against an AI-driven race that pushes universities toward increasingly similar strategies.

While acknowledging the growing demand for AI talent, Quacquarelli argued that the humanities could become even more valuable by cultivating the human capabilities employers increasingly seek.

"The humanities have a real role to play in developing critical thinking, lateral thinking, problem solving and communication. Their importance is probably likely to rise, not diminish," he said.

The growing value of human skills also creates an opportunity for universities to differentiate themselves, Sowter said, rather than competing in an increasingly crowded race to expand AI and STEM programs.

"One of the challenges for universities is building a distinctive, memorable identity," he said. "If every institution is trying to do exactly the same thing, they end up competing with each other rather than distinguishing themselves internationally."

Turner echoed that view, arguing that universities' competitive advantage lies in their ability to combine technological training with interdisciplinary learning and the development of uniquely human skills.

"There aren't many environments which can really bring that all together," Turner said. "We think universities have a really essential role to play in developing the skills that are going to be needed in an AI era."