Rethinking purpose of universities, TVETs in AI era

Yet in an age where intelligence has become a shared global resource, quantity is no longer enough. The true measure of purpose and progress must be relevance, and particularly, how well our teaching prepares students to thrive in a future world shaped by artificial intelligence.

Across the world, governments are not waiting for the future to arrive. They are designing for it. In the United Arab Emirates, every citizen now has access to free AI tools.

In Jordan, the Ministry of Education is ensuring that every child learns with AI. In the United States and China, children as young as six are being introduced to AI concepts.

These governments understand that nations at the forefront of AI development will shape emerging industries and set economic standards. Similarly, in the Global North, universities are beginning to see AI not as a threat but as a partner.

They are using it to reimagine teaching, learning and research in ways that make education more adaptive and discovery more dynamic. Kenya cannot afford to be a spectator in this race.

Our universities and TVETs must evolve from institutions that deliver knowledge to generating intelligence.

This means embedding AI not as a single course but as a cross-cutting competence shaping every discipline: from the sciences to the creative arts and humanities. Imagine a TVET student in automotive engineering graduating with an understanding of AI-powered predictive maintenance.

Equipped with that skill, they could help matatu or bus fleet owners use simple sensors to forecast vehicle breakdowns, saving thousands of shillings and improving road safety. That is the power of applied intelligence, turning theory into transformation.

Now picture a law graduate who understands vibe coding and uses that to build a low-cost agentic legal AI for small businesses that cannot afford legal representation.

The outcome is not just innovation; it is inclusion. These examples are within reach if we reimagine curricula, invest in capacity building for educators, and let innovation flow between universities, TVETs and industry.

Innovation is nothing new to us as Africans.

From the metal furnaces of the Haya in ancient Tanzania to intricate irrigation systems that sustained early communities, from the architectural marvels of Great Zimbabwe to the astronomy of the Dogon people, we have always pushed the boundaries of what is possible.

AI now gives us new tools to express that same spirit of ingenuity, and through modern research systems and institutional collaboration, this creative energy can once again be channelled into national transformation.

At the heart of this transformation lies science, research and innovation. From climate-smart agriculture to public health and the creative economy, AI-driven research can become our new engine of growth.

This is already beginning with initiatives such as NRF AI, being developed for the National Research Fund, which gives researchers access to an intelligent research assistant trained on Kenyan and African data but connected to global repositories to ensure that our ideas contribute to global knowledge.

Sustaining this momentum needs bold and visionary leadership across the sector. In this regard, Kenya’s university vice-chancellors and TVET principals have a unique opportunity to turn awareness into action by providing the direction, collaboration and capacity needed to turn promising ideas into lasting national impact.

By embracing AI as a tool for transformation, they can help shape a more innovative, inclusive and competitive Kenya. Yet technology alone will not secure progress. Its real value will lie in how education itself evolves to shape the people, ideas and ethics that guide innovation through that technology.

The question before us is no longer whether AI will change education. It already has. The real challenge is whether education will, in turn, change Kenya and also whether our institutions will be bold enough to lead that transformation.

That transformation will not happen by chance but through the choices our universities and TVETs make today. We owe it to a new generation of Kenyan learners to make the right choices for they will inherit the world we are shaping.

Those choices begin with a new mindset: to view AI not as a threat but as a tool to reimagine teaching and research, expand opportunity and strengthen our nation’s capacity to think and create. In the years ahead, history will not remember who built the most campuses or graduated the most students, but those who equipped our learners with the best ability to thrive in the AI age.

Prof Chris Odindo, De Monfort University, UK