Since IBM and Edith Cowan University (ECU) announced the launch of the IBM Future Lab at ECU Joondalup campus back in March 2024, the interest in the initiative continues to grow.
The IBM Future Lab’s key purpose is to train West Australian students for the jobs of tomorrow across Artificial Intelligence (AI), sustainability and energy transition.
The lab’s location within ECU enables interns to access specific learning resources, plus IBM experts and the bonus of opportunities to create direct connections with some of the state’s most innovative companies, while developing high-demand skills as designers, data scientists, software engineers, project managers and mobile application developers.
IBM Future Lab for a future workforce
Vivien Hegedus is Director IBM Future Lab, IBM Consulting and says the impact of AI is being felt across industries and in workplaces worldwide.
“As companies seek ways to drive better results with this powerful technology, we must start preparing those in the workforce and those about to enter it for collaboration with AI tools,” she told EducationDaily.
She says technology will play a part in most future roles.
“Some will only have to be ‘expert users’ of technology, but most will need skills to advance the underlying technology continuously while applying their core skillsets.
“AI solutions are already being deployed across companies to help tackle the kind of tasks most
people find repetitive, which frees up employees to take on higher value work.”
To help prepare Australian students to be job-ready in positions they may have never considered, or even heard of, Hegedus says the launch of the IBM Future Lab brings “cutting-edge technology, world-class expertise, and a customised accelerator program to university students”.
“These students work on real-life projects across the country including with real IBM clients while still studying, and seamlessly enter the workforce upon graduation. As part of the program students gain experience and expertise from IBM across AI, sustainability and other emerging technologies.”
Families play an important part in cultural change
For families wondering how to best support their children, Hegedus says the days of preparing a student for just one life-long profession are long gone.
“Families can support their kids by keeping and fostering their curiosity, bravery, and agility. These abilities are familiar to younger children but typically get lost in later years,” she told EducationDaily.
“These qualities will be crucial for the continuous and fluid approach of self-driven learning that will be the foundation of the serial careers we are all accepted to have over a lifetime.”
Apart from nurturing curiosity and play, Hegedus says it’s also essential that educators help instil and cultivate critical thinking, ethics, “and an in-depth understanding of humanities studies”.
Challenging traditions
She believes the role the IBM Future Lab can play is an important one – and that its unique approach is key.
While it was once common for businesses and universities to run a wide variety of graduate programs, with the expectation that students would navigate the university pathway for years and graduate before applying for their desired role, Hegedus says the IBM Future Lab reverses this once-traditional order
“We offer them a job early on in their educational journey,” she told EducationDaily, adding that the model has already been scaled with more than 130 students across Australia.
“The students can ‘choose their adventure’, we accelerate their professional development, and it also helps them to decide their future careers.”
To help overcome fears about the ever-encroaching impact of AI, Hegedus says both parents and educators should remember what using the Internet felt like.
“It was tough to imagine back then how, in a short decade, this new technology would completely change
we shop, communicate, travel, do our banking, work, study or experience entertainment,” she told EducationDaily.
“AI will bring a similar shift on a macro and micro level. It might feel uncomfortable and uncertain, but it will become part of the norm for young students. They are growing up to become AI natives.”
Encouraging exploration
Megan Lilley, Associate, IBM Consulting, IBM Future Lab, agrees and says they believe that fostering a child’s success for their future career “starts with encouraging exploration through their personal interests and hobbies”.
“Promoting a love for learning and nurturing curiosity are essential for developing the mindset and skills needed for long-term success,” they told EducationDaily.
What they describe as the inclusive nature of the lab at ECU expands on that by offering support and understanding of the journey from education to workforce.
“The partnership between ECU and IBM is unique because we model our support system on past-students supporting current students. Everybody in the IBM Future Lab has been through the ECU internship process, and therefore has the knowledge and experience to guide our new starters.
“When I came to IBM as and ECU student in 2023, I was impressed by the level of support and empathy I received from my coworkers, as they understood how daunting the experience can be for someone joining the corporate workforce for the first time.
“The culture and environment we have created at the IBM Future Lab is a testament to how important initiatives like this can be, as not only are we preparing students for future careers, we are doing so in a safe and welcoming environment where students can also build their professional network with like-minded people.”
