Rethinking Continuous University Education for Professionals – A Podcast-Based Course on Service Design and AI

Abstract

The knowledge demand in the intersection between human-centered design and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has increased rapidly in both the private and public sectors. However, higher education is struggling to provide relevant content to already established senior professionals in a flexible and timely way. Mobile learning (m-learning) provides a promising way, but more research and practice is needed to design and launch efficient m-learning initiatives. In this paper, we share our experiences in designing and launching a flexible and self-paced podcast-based, free university course for established professionals on the topic of human-centered design and AI. We present our design process and highlight the findings from our on-going student survey evaluation. The questions addressed in this paper are: (1) How can educators design podcast-based courses for professionals in Higher Education? (2) What impact does a podcast-based format have on a student’s engagement in higher education? Preliminary results indicate that the podcast-based format is an appreciated form of flexible learning, and that the content of human-centered design and AI is of high interest for a multidisciplinary community of professional practitioners.