AI in engineering education is an opportunity, not a replacement for lecturers — Prem Gunnasegaran

October 1 — Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an integral part of everyday life, and universities are embracing its integration. In engineering education, AI tools are revolutionizing the way students learn, solve problems, complete assignments, and explore technical concepts. While the inevitability of AI in the field is clear, the greater challenge lies in teaching students to use it responsibly, critically, and ethically.

Historically, engineering has evolved alongside technology, with modern engineers now working alongside sophisticated software, digital modeling, automation, and data-driven systems. Looking ahead, engineers will increasingly collaborate with intelligent technologies. However, the presence of AI does not suggest its replacement of engineering lecturers.

Engineering education extends beyond obtaining the correct answer; it encompasses understanding the reasoning behind the answer, identifying assumptions, evaluating alternatives, and making decisions even when faced with incomplete information. The future of education lies in teaching students how to use AI wisely rather than choosing between humans and AI.

While AI can solve complex engineering problems swiftly, students may lack the ability to explain the assumptions behind the calculation or identify unrealistic results. This is where lecturers maintain their essential role by providing context, challenging assumptions, and encouraging students to think beyond the immediate answer.

They also help students develop professional judgment, ethical awareness, and apply engineering knowledge to real-world situations. AI can generate information, but it cannot replace the engineer's responsibility to decide the reliability of that information. Concerns about academic integrity arise as students may use AI to generate entire assignments or engineering solutions without understanding them, potentially producing graduates who lack essential skills for professional practice.

Banning AI is not the solution; instead, universities should evolve assessment methods. They can focus on problem-solving processes, oral presentations, design demonstrations, laboratory work, case studies, and reflective explanations. Students should provide answers and explain their reasoning and verification of results. AI can also become a learning tool, with students using it to generate a preliminary solution and then critically evaluating it using engineering principles.

Identifying errors, challenging assumptions, comparing approaches, and improving the solution transforms AI from a shortcut to a learning tool. This approach is crucial in engineering, where poor decisions can affect safety, infrastructure, energy systems, and quality of life. Malaysia's ambition to develop a high-value, technology-driven economy emphasizes the importance of this issue.

Universities must produce graduates comfortable with emerging technologies while maintaining independent thinking. Graduates should not merely know how to ask AI for an answer but also frame the right questions, verify information, recognize limitations, and take responsibility for their decisions. AI adoption should be accompanied by appropriate guidance and institutional support, ensuring that digital literacy differences and technology access do not exacerbate existing inequalities.

While the role of lecturers is evolving, it is not disappearing. They may become facilitators, mentors, and critical-thinking coaches instead of mere information providers. Embracing AI wisely can make educators' roles even more meaningful in producing a new generation of engineers who are technologically capable, ethical, thoughtful, and responsible professionals ready to contribute to Malaysia's future.