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96% of students in Catalonia have used AI at some point.
On 28 February, the study ‘AI and Employability: The Future of Students in Catalonia’ was presented, an investigation promoted by Planeta Formación and Universities with the technical support of GAD3. This analysis delves into the impact of artificial intelligence in the workplace and its influence on future generations of professionals in Catalonia.
During the event, Narciso Michavila, president of GAD3, shared the main keys of the study, providing a strategic vision on how AI will transform the employment landscape and the most demanded skills in the labour market in an increasingly digitised environment, offering fundamental tools for students, teachers and companies.
The study reveals that the vast majority of students in Catalonia (96%) have used AI at some point. Of these, 7 out of 10 use artificial intelligence tools at user level. In addition, 27% of respondents are able to create and apply AI, demonstrating an advanced level of understanding and skills in these tools.
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We asked what are the main applications that define Artificial Intelligence.
Students identified task optimisation as the most valued across all fields of study. This is followed by image analysis and process automation. The report also explores the opportunities and challenges that AI poses for the future of work. Key opportunities include increased productivity, automation of repetitive tasks and advances in research and development (R&D) that drive innovation and optimise processes.
Significant challenges are also identified depending on the field, including job losses, which are of particular concern to students in the arts and humanities, who fear job displacement due to automation. In other fields, concerns focus on ethical implications, such as data privacy and the responsible use of automation.
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61% of students in Catalonia show a high willingness to learn about AI
Of these, 39% say ‘it is the future’, and 21% highlight its ‘usefulness’, recognising the potential of AI to transform not only the labour market, but also society as a whole.
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What role do educational institutions play in AI?
The survey reveals a broad consensus on the need to improve AI training for both students and teachers. In addition, more than half, 67% of the respondents consider it very necessary to create training programmes due to the lack of training in AI as this could affect the future employability of students, another of the measures they consider relevant is the collaboration with productive sectors for practical applications of AI.
Technical specifications
Universe: higher education students aged between 18 and 35.
Scope: Catalonia.
Quotas: by sex and age (INE), level of studies and area of education.
Data collection procedure: computer-assisted online interview (CAWI).
Sample size: 391 total interviews distributed according to the profile indicated.
Sampling error: ±5.1% (n=391) for a confidence level of 95.5% (two sigmas) and in the worst-case scenario of P=Q=0.5% (two sigmas).
(two sigmas) and in the worst case scenario of P=Q=0.5 in the simple random sampling assumption.
Interview duration: 7-8 minutes (35 questions).
Fieldwork dates: 10-23 October 2024.
