Meta-skills such as adaptability, emotional intelligence, collaboration and critical thinking are now considered core competencies, increasingly valued as technology automates routine work and job roles shift.
At a panel discussion during Gulf News Edufair in Abu Dhabi, educators emphasised that these so-called soft skills are essential to employability across all sectors. They also highlighted that academic knowledge and subject matter expertise remain critical, forming the foundation upon which these broader capabilities are built.
As universities respond to rapidly changing workforce demands, combining intellectual rigour with human-centric skills is becoming key to preparing graduates for leadership and long-term impact. Panelists pointed out that employers are now prioritising candidates who demonstrate strong interpersonal skills alongside technical expertise.
Prof. Elsa Ashish Thomas, Chairperson of the Manipal Institute of Liberal Arts (MILA) at MAHE Dubai, cited LinkedIn research to highlight that 89 per cent of hiring managers believe bad hires fail due to a lack of soft skills and not because they lack technical knowledge.
“So especially in these times, when AI is able to do a lot of the work humans were doing earlier, it’s more than ever skills such as critical thinking, collaboration and judgment, have become all the more important,” she said.
Embedding ethics and empathy into technical curricula
Panelists agreed that integrating empathy, ethics and cultural sensitivity into technical programmes is possible without reducing academic rigour.
“Ethics should be embedded into all academic streams,” said Dr Tamizharasan, Assistant Professor & Deputy Head of Department of Computer Science at BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus.
“In tech courses, for example, when we teach students how to build AI models, we also include a unit on responsibility and responsible use. There needs to be a framework that ensures the AI models they create are designed to be responsible from the start.”
Can soft skills be taught?
As universities look to redesign their programmes, the question of whether soft skills can be taught came up.
“There’s more liberal arts in engineering, management, and design now,” said Prof. Thomas.
“So to answer the question – can soft skills be taught like math or coding? I think yes. They can be systematically integrated into education.”
She pointed to global examples. “Take the two happiest countries in the world – Denmark and Finland. Denmark introduced empathy as a subject in its national curriculum back in 1993. They explicitly teach empathy in schools. Finland, on the other hand, embeds it across the entire education system.”
Dr Tamizharasan agreed. “Emotional intelligence and other soft skills are often categorised as open electives, but we really need to make them mandatory. They’re just as essential as academic subjects in preparing students for real-world challenges.”
Teaching and assessing what’s hard to measure
Soft skills may be teachable, but how can they be assessed effectively?
“Soft skills are some of the hardest to teach. They take time and require personal attention,” Dr Thomas said. “If you’re teaching communication skills to a student, for example, it doesn’t happen overnight.”
“When it comes to grading, there’s always a risk of subjectivity, and that’s normal,” Dr Thomas added.
“But the method we’ve followed, which works quite well, is a three-level assessment. The first step is self-reflection, allowing students to evaluate their own performance on a project or presentation. Then there’s peer analysis, where classmates give feedback. Finally, the teacher provides their input. This gives students 360-degree feedback and helps reduce some of the subjectivity in assessment.”
Creating real-world learning environments
To prepare students for hybrid and global teams, universities have started prioritising collaborative learning environments. Panelists highlighted the importance of project-based learning, cross-border peer partnerships and practice school models.
“Project-based learning is important because it allows students to work in groups and build collaboration skills,” said Dr Tamizharasan.
“BITS Pilani’s Practice school model, where students work with companies and collaborate with peers from other institutions, creates valuable opportunities to train them in real-world teamwork and communication.”
Industry-academia partnership is key
Strong collaboration with industry has emerged as a critical factor in creating graduates who are future-ready.
“It starts with curriculum building,” said Prof. Thomas. “More recently, engaged universities have started involving industry in co-creating the curriculum. At Manipal Dubai, we have a board of advisors, and every one or two years, we update the curriculum based on what the industry requires. This helps bridge the gap between academia and industry.”
Faculty at BITS Pilani Dubai usually have the flexibility to modify about 15 to 20 per cent of their course content based on industry feedback, Dr Tamizharasan added. “That’s part of the standard process, and it allows us to quickly incorporate relevant updates.”
Internships, too, are viewed as essential. “Internships are a huge part of bridging the gap between academics and industry. They’re absolutely essential as students get trained on the job and experience what real work environments demand,” she said.
The human edge in the age of AI
As AI systems become more capable of handling analytical tasks, educators are focusing on cultivating human strengths such as judgment, empathy and creativity.
“I think good education prepares students not just to absorb facts, but to learn how to learn,” said Dr Thomas.
“We should start viewing both tech and human-centric skills as essential, with technology acting as an enabler, not a replacement. It’s about augmented intelligence, where tech enhances our abilities, supports us, but never replaces the human element.”
