{
  "id": 5238552,
  "title": "Aim for connected, human-centred AI-ready varsities",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/aim-for-connected-human-centred-ai-ready-varsities",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-03T03:57:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/letters/2026/09/1524790/aim-connected-human-centred-ai-ready-varsities"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A university's readiness for AI goes beyond mere adoption of ChatGPT or AI assistants, focusing instead on the institution's responsiveness, connectivity, and effectiveness in serving its students. The Malaysia Higher Education Blueprint 2026–2035 signifies a shift in the sector's transformation, particularly as the country continues to expand its internationalisation agenda. Malaysia is currently home to over 137,000 international higher education students, making the student experience a crucial factor in the nation's competitiveness as an education destination.\n\nImagine a prospective student exploring a Malaysian university online, submitting an inquiry, discussing with an admissions counsellor, applying for a programme, receiving an offer, enrolling, accessing the learning management system, interacting with finance and student services, and finally graduating. From the student's perspective, this forms a seamless journey. However, from the university's perspective, the same student may be perceived as a prospect, applicant, student, learner, payer, and recent graduate across five, eight, or even ten separate systems. These systems operate independently, including the customer relationship management system, admissions system, student information system, learning platform, finance system, and student services system. The issue isn't a lack of data; it's the disconnected nature of this data.\n\nDuring student recruitment, a prospective student in Kuala Lumpur might be simultaneously comparing universities in Singapore, Australia, the United Kingdom, or elsewhere. The competition now extends beyond rankings, tuition fees, and programme content. Instead, institutions vie for the fastest, most relevant, and high-quality student experience. A student asking about programme eligibility at midnight shouldn't have to wait two working days for a response. AI can provide this instantaneous, 24-hour support for routine inquiries, explain entry requirements, suggest suitable programmes, guide students through applications, and organise meetings with human advisers.\n\nIn Malaysia, AI is evolving beyond simple question-answering chatbots. The next generation of AI moves from mere answering to assisting, and ultimately to acting within defined boundaries - an emerging form of agentic AI. However, this doesn't imply the removal of human involvement in admissions. Instead, AI should manage repetitive, high-volume, and time-sensitive interactions, freeing admissions professionals to focus on empathetic, persuasive, experienced, and judicious conversations. An AI can explain application deadlines, but a human is still needed for career-changing inquiries or financing decisions.\n\nThe winning formula isn't AI versus humans; it's AI for availability and scale with humans for judgment and relationships. In higher education, I propose measuring success not just by return on investment, but also by return on student impact. Efficiency matters, but so do retention, progression, student experience, and access to support. Institutions must also remember that connecting data doesn't equate to surveillance. Privacy, security, transparency, fairness, and human oversight must guide the development of AI in education.\n\nWhile aiming to create AI-first universities, it's crucial to remember that not all institutions will succeed by deploying the most AI. The institutions that thrive will be those that create intelligent, connected, and human-centred environments where AI serves as an enabler of a better institution and student journey.",
  "summary": "A UNIVERSITY does not become AI-ready simply because students use ChatGPT, staff have access to an AI assistant, or the admissions office deploys a chatbot, but whether AI is helping the institution become more responsive, connected and effective in serving students.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": "Universities must shift from mere AI adoption to creating connected, human-centred environments where AI enhances the student experience, freeing humans to focus on empathetic interactions and judgment.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}