Generative AI has quickly spread across the world and began a major shift in the way we approach work. Now, Agentic AI is joining teams, owning work, and redefining the skills needed for career success. For students at the Columbia University School of Professional Studies (SPS) preparing to enter, pivot, or advance in a workforce deeply shaped by AI, these changes elicit uncertainty and raise questions about their impact on the workforce and professional careers.
To address these issues and students’ career prospects in a new working landscape, Columbia’s Career Design Lab, in collaboration with the M.S. in Information & Knowledge Strategy (IKNS) program, hosted “Drawing Back the Curtain: Does AI Change the Job and Who Gets Hired?”
Students, alumni, faculty, and industry professionals recently gathered at the Career Design Lab in Times Square and via livestream to hear from an esteemed panel of industry leaders who highlighted how AI is reshaping roles, hiring practices, and the future of work. The panelists spanned roles and industries and included Candice Tse, managing director and U.S. head of market strategy at Goldman Sachs; Glynn Jones, global leader for cloud transformation industry strategists at Amazon Web Services (AWS); Myrlene Laroche, group director for strategy (SM) at Accenture Song; Shahzad Khokhar, global head of platforms at Accelirate; and Sara Nunez, CEO for Dream to Succeed and strategic advisor and consultant for corporate AI transformations. IKNS Program Director Christoph Meinrenken moderated the panel, followed by a Q&A and a lively networking reception among students, executives, and other participants.
Each executive highlighted key impacts of AI in today’s workforce and how students at SPS can uniquely position themselves to thrive in this new age of work. What they found is that AI is here to stay, adoption efforts are scaling across businesses, and there will be impacts to labor productivity and job distribution.
IKNS Program Director Christoph Meinrenken moderated the panel, which was followed by a Q&A and a lively networking reception between students, executives, and other participants.
As Khokhar explained, the organizational structure is skewed, and “while there may be some jobs going away, other jobs are actually going up.” Role responsibilities will elevate beyond task completion and allow people to focus more on strategy and impact. The key to these changes is in the level of work being done and human-centered skills that cannot be replaced.
“There’s always going to be people that need to set a vision,” Jones shared. “Being able to have a new idea, that’s really important. There’s always room for people who have soft skills and can create relationships, who understand the nuances of things, and have emotional intelligence.” Khokhar, an alumnus of the IKNS program, noted that the program set him up for success in these areas by teaching beyond the frameworks and toward a critical leadership skill: knowing how to solve a problem.
Education and lifelong learning are key aspects in staying prepared and agile in the marketplace. Myrlene Laroche, who also teaches graduate courses at Columbia SPS, noted that education that really develops an understanding of the subject matter is more important than ever. “Those who are going to get the roles are the ones who know their discipline very well,” she said.
While there remains much to be discovered about AI and its impact, one thing is certain: SPS students, in programs like IKNS, are setting themselves up to succeed and lead in their careers.
About Columbia’s IKNS Degree
Columbia University’s M.S. in Information & Knowledge Strategy (IKNS) degree integrates data, people, and strategy skills for the A.I. age. The flexible and interdisciplinary curriculum trains leaders across the entire value chain of data-driven management: Getting the data and analytics right (e.g., A.I. adoption, business analytics), creating a high performing, people-centric culture (collaboration, team/project management, organizational psychology), and finally the right change management to turn your strategy into reality.
IKNS is available full-time or part-time, online or in-person on Columbia’s landmarked campus right here in New York City. To maximize opportunities for networking and community building, our online students join our New York-based students on Columbia’s campus for three in-person Residencies during their studies. The STEM-designated Master of Science degree offers International Students (F-1/J-1 visa) an opportunity for Curricular Practical Training during their studies (CPT) and 3 years of work authorization in the US upon completing their studies (OPT).
Students train under world-class faculty, including former and current executives from Google, IBM, NASA, and Oliver Wyman, and join a powerful global alumni network in coveted positions, including at Alphabet, Goldman Sachs, Nike, Pfizer, and the World Bank.
For more IKNS insights, news, and events, please go to our website, connect with us on LinkedIn, or attend one of our online info sessions. Visit the School of Professional Studies website to learn more about the SPS Student Experience.
