Staff
While universities are giving faculty AI tools, programmes and training at speed, academic leaders say the harder task is building the judgement to question the technology, not just use it
Dubai, Sept 30, 2026: Access to artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer the main obstacle for universities. AI tools are being licensed for entire campuses, new degrees are being built around the technology, and national frameworks now assess whether faculty are ready to teach with it.
While driving this shift, institutions are also mindful of a different problem. A consultant surgeon, a finance lecturer and a data scientist need very different things from the same technology. And all three also need to know when not to trust it.
The approaches now taking shape range from whole-community tool rollouts to peer-led training built around each discipline. Institutions are also beginning to move from counting training hours to asking whether AI is changing how faculty teach and research.
Beyond the licence
For many institutions, the first step towards faculty AI readiness has been access. The more deliberate approaches pair that access with training, new academic structures and programmes designed to bring AI expertise into the everyday work of faculty.
The University of Manchester’s branch in Dubai has offered part-time master’s programmes for working professionals since 2006. Earlier this year, through a strategic collaboration with Microsoft, the university became what it calls the first university in the world to provide Microsoft 365 Copilot access and training to its entire community of 65,000 students and staff.
“This forms part of the University’s broader digital and AI transformation programme, which focuses not only on tools, but on building long-term AI literacy and ensuring the responsible integration of emerging technologies,” says Randa Bessiso, Founding Director and CEO, Middle East, The University of Manchester – Dubai.
At SP Jain School of Global Management, the emphasis falls on building AI into the institution rather than into a single department. “AI readiness is increasingly being approached as an institutional capability rather than a technology-specific skill,” says Dr Kavita Shukla, Head of Campus, SP Jain School of Global Management, Dubai.
The school’s Master of Artificial Intelligence in Business (MAIB) brings AI expertise into teaching, curriculum design, research and industry engagement. Its AI-Enabled Learning Tutor (AI Tutor) is an always-available support tool that gives students personalised academic help, and it has pushed faculty to rethink their own teaching.
