While schools debate AI use, one college integrates it into the curriculum

Mapúa Malayan Digital College pushes AI fluency as a workplace skill.

Since the rise of AI, Philippine schools have approached the technology with caution.

Some have restricted access to AI tools, while others have focused on guidelines for “responsible” AI use.

In workplaces, however, AI has become increasingly part of daily processes. The question is no longer only how to regulate AI, but how students must be prepared to work with it.

The fully online Mapúa Malayan Digital College, in collaboration with Arizona State University, is among the institutions taking this approach through its AI fluency framework, which focuses on how students can apply AI in learning and future work.

AI literacy generally refers to understanding what AI is, how it works, and its limitations. It includes knowing how to communicate requirements effectively, craft prompts, and assess AI-generated outputs.

AI fluency goes further by using the technology to organize data, analyze information, solve problems, and support decision-making—all while applying human judgment.

The MMDC describes its initiative as the Philippines’ first comprehensive institutional AI fluency framework.

The framework begins not with AI itself, but with the skills needed to use it responsibly.

Before students engage deeply with AI tools, the MMDC said it will first strengthen foundational human skills such as communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, and information literacy.

Students then move through three stages: discovering AI, creating projects with AI, and leading with AI.

In the first stage, students encounter AI within their courses rather than as a separate tool, helping them simplify concepts, understand lessons, and assess their own learning.

In the second stage, students use AI as a learning partner for dialogue, roleplay, practice, feedback, reflection, and project development—while still applying their own judgment, discipline knowledge, and academic integrity.

In the final stage, students are expected to apply AI to real-world problems connected to their field, career goals, and workplace context, using AI to solve problems, improve processes, and develop outputs relevant to their fields.

The MMDC said the framework will be integrated into its information technology and business programs, including AI-focused specializations designed to address changing workplace demands.

According to the “Hiring, Compensation & Benefits Report” of Jobstreet by SEEK in August 2025, 72% of businesses in the Philippines factor an applicant’s AI knowledge into their hiring decisions.

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