Gulf News Edufair Abu Dhabi 2025 Highlights the Shift in AI Skill Demands
During the Gulf News Edufair 2025 in Abu Dhabi, teachers, business leaders, and students came together to share how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the future career skills. There was a clear consensus that in a world dominated by technological progress, "meta skills" have become more essential than the conventional hard skills.
Meta skills are higher-level skills that encompass adaptability, emotional intelligence, creativity, critical thinking, and good communication. These skills enable people to adapt to complicated and rapidly changing situations, which cannot be imitated by machines.
The Call for Interdisciplinary Learning
Dr. Elie Menassa, School of Business Dean at Amity University Dubai, mentioned the significance of realizing the need for new job roles like "prompt engineers," who refine AI-created content. This change indicates the increasing demand for human beings to not only utilize AI but also mold and guide its output ethically and efficiently.
Daniel Adkins, Group CEO of Transnational Academic Group, highlighted the need for critical thinking skills to accompany dependence on AI. He promoted interdisciplinary learning, combining STEM with liberal arts, to nurture innovative and well-rounded thinking.
Speakers like Dr. Rita Zgheib from Canadian University Dubai and Dr. Ajay Shukla from Global Study underlined that soft skills—often overlooked—are foundational meta skills. Courses in entrepreneurship, AI ethics, and communication were highlighted as essential for developing well-rounded, future-ready students.
Also read: Acer Edu Summit Asia Pacific 2025 Highlights AI and Digital Transformation in Education
Rethinking Higher Education Models
Universities are responding by transforming teaching methods. Institutions such as Manipal University and Middlesex University are moving toward facilitation-based learning, encouraging student-driven exploration over passive lecture-based formats.
As industries become increasingly AI-integrated, the most successful professionals will be those who combine technical know-how with strong meta skills. The Edufair spotlighted a critical shift: in the age of AI, the ability to think, adapt, and collaborate may be the most valuable "hard skills" of all.
