Generative artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly important learning tool for students. They are using it not only to search for information and prepare presentations, but also to create quizzes, analyse course materials and expand their knowledge. This is forcing universities to rethink both how they assess academic progress and how they teach. Experts argue that the ability to use AI responsibly and effectively will become one of the key skills required in the labour market.
“Artificial intelligence poses an enormous challenge for university lecturers. We need to realise that continuing to use traditional assessment methods to test knowledge is a little like timing an athlete running 100 metres while they are actually riding an electric scooter,” Dr Albert Tomaszewski of the Warsaw School of Economics, Director of the Centre for Startup Incubation and Acceleration, told the Newseria news agency.
A study conducted by the AICEE Foundation in early 2025 among more than 3,000 students and recent graduates from six Central and Eastern European countries found that 82% of respondents actively used AI tools. Of those surveyed, 78% used them for learning, mainly to search for information, analyse data and write assignments.
“We have to accept that many tasks are now performed completely differently from just two years ago. Preparing materials for a presentation, organising content or producing graphics can now take an hour rather than several days. Assessment methods must therefore change as well,” Tomaszewski said.
“My approach is to give students more work because I take into account the fact that they use these tools. At the same time, I do not believe that allowing students to work with artificial intelligence without any supervision would be the right path,” he added.
Only one-third of students said their university supported the use of AI, while just 5% reported that their institution offered courses specifically devoted to the technology.
Respondents also described lecturers’ attitudes towards AI as cautious. Some 30% of students said their professors encouraged the use of AI tools, while 28% reported that lecturers actively discouraged them. Younger academic staff were more willing to use AI than their older colleagues.
“In my view, the role of a university remains to provide graduates with a kind of certificate confirming that they are capable of critical thinking, producing a coherent and meaningful argument independently, and working with sources on their own,” Tomaszewski said.
“This is the main challenge because these tools are becoming increasingly capable. Two years ago, a paper prepared with the help of a chatbot was immediately obvious. Today, you have to examine it carefully to identify where artificial intelligence was used,” he added.
“We now face the challenge of determining how to incorporate AI into this process. It is a revolution, but this is a question universities around the world are asking themselves.”
According to the study, Polish universities, alongside Romanian institutions, are the most open to AI among the countries analysed.
The report’s authors emphasised that universities need to introduce a broad range of changes. In their view, artificial intelligence should become part of the educational process, while lecturers should receive training on how AI tools can support the development of critical thinking, data analysis and creativity.
AI should also be incorporated into curricula in fields such as management, information technology and marketing, where its importance is already significant.
According to Tomaszewski, universities should not try to compete with artificial intelligence. Instead, they should teach students how to use it responsibly and effectively in education.
“I can see that my students are increasingly using algorithms in an intelligent way. They are not simply entering an assignment into a chatbot and copying the response,” he said.
“They process teaching materials and create different types of quizzes that test them as part of their exam preparation. They can also access additional sources and combine them with the materials I provide. Even today, although we are only at the beginning of this journey, the technology is being used to broaden horizons and fill knowledge gaps quickly,” he added.
AI Skills Will Become Increasingly Important at Work
Tomaszewski believes a similar transformation will take place in the labour market. AI development is likely to move towards specialised tools designed to perform specific tasks and support employees in particular professional roles.
“It will not work in such a way that I open a general-purpose chatbot and ask where to begin with a marketing campaign. Dedicated tools will emerge that prepare users to perform specific tasks in a more structured way,” he said.
Respondents in the AICEE Foundation study highlighted the need to develop AI-related skills. Almost 40% of young people said that knowledge of artificial intelligence was already a professional requirement.
The AI in Polish SMEs 2026 report, prepared by Google using data from the Pracuj.pl recruitment platform, found that the share of job advertisements containing references to AI increased from 0.72% to 1.34% last year, a rise of nearly 86%.
In absolute terms, the number of such job offers increased from 3,200 to 5,700.
Growing interest in the Skills of Tomorrow: AI programme, jointly delivered by the Warsaw School of Economics and Google, also demonstrates the demand for AI-related competencies.
A total of 65,000 people participated in the programme’s third edition. Across all editions, 92,000 participants obtained certificates.
A post-programme survey found that 94.4% of participants intended to use the skills they had acquired in their work, while 87.5% felt prepared for AI-related changes in their industry. More than 96% expressed a positive attitude towards the technology.
“Many people who have had no previous contact with AI feel a certain level of anxiety. The course gives them greater confidence in using these tools, a better understanding of what can be done with them and how they can support everyday work,” Tomaszewski said.
“We observe these results in every successive edition of the research,” he added.
AI Helps Employees Save Time and Organise Work
Research by the Warsaw School of Economics also shows that users of generative AI increasingly recognise its practical benefits in their daily work.
These advantages are particularly evident in content preparation, document analysis and information management.
“One interesting theme that emerged in the third edition was the ability to free up time. People can work faster, particularly when dealing with unrewarding tasks such as handling complaints or planning their workload,” Tomaszewski said.
“People who struggle with organising tasks say that large language models make it easier to divide major problems into smaller parts and solve them gradually,” he added.
The competencies acquired at universities will become increasingly important to employers, many of whom are themselves still learning how to use AI.
According to Eurostat, 20% of companies in the European Union with at least 10 employees used artificial intelligence in 2025. In Poland, the proportion was 8.4%, leaving the country below the EU average.
At the same time, the AI in Polish SMEs 2026 report indicates that artificial intelligence in small and medium-sized enterprises is moving from a phase of general market interest towards regular, practical use.
“We are only at the beginning of implementing this technology across the economy. Fully developed models have not yet emerged. The larger the organisation, the greater the challenge,” Tomaszewski said.
“In smaller organisations, adoption often takes place from the bottom up, and that is a good method,” he concluded.
