Study Accounting or Islamic Business at NAPS to open doors to a wide range of international career opportunities.
Embark on a Journey of Excellence with NAPS College. Join Our Diverse International Community of Learners.
Study in Sydney’s thriving CBD, then relax with easy access to cafes, shops and Sydney Harbour.
Study Accounting or Islamic Business at NAPS to open doors to a wide range of international career opportunities.
Study Accounting or Islamic Business at NAPS to open doors to a wide range of international career opportunities.
Study Accounting or Islamic Business at NAPS to open doors to a wide range of international career opportunities.
Welcome to NAPS - Your Gateway to Quality Higher Education in Australia
At NAPS, we're dedicated to providing a premier educational experience for students eager to embrace learning, leadership, and personal growth. As a leading private higher education provider, we take pride in our commitment to excellence and innovation in delivering top-tier academic programs.
Our courses, accredited by the esteemed Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), ensure that students receive a rigorous and recognized education that prepares them for success in their chosen fields. Whether you're pursuing a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) or pioneering studies in our Bachelor of Islamic Business program, NAPS offers a diverse range of options tailored to meet the needs of today's learners.
Read moreCRICOS Course Code: 109327E
As well as having the right qualifications and real-world experience in their teaching areas, NAPS academic staff are committed to actively engaging with you to help you become the professional we know you can be.
Read MoreThrough the NAPS Skills Hub, you can learn the technical and ‘soft’ skills required to boost your career as well as collaborate with others through electronic chat boards.
Read MoreEvery NAPS student has the opportunity to graduate with a Professional ePortfolio, a high-tech way to prove your job-readiness, experience and technology literacy to recruitment and professional agencies and employers.
Read MoreNAPS campus is in Surry Hills next to Central Station near Sydney’s Central Business District (CBD), close to transport, shops, cafes, restaurants, major libraries, the courts and the commercial heart of Sydney where thousands of professionals work.
NAPS Sydney CBD location makes it easier to co-run events and develop internships and workplace arrangements with city-based businesses.
Our flexible options and central location make it easy for city-based professionals to improve their qualifications during day or evening classes.
International students appreciate Sydney’s multi-cultural welcome, great weather and outdoor lifestyle.
International education professionals gathered from across the globe at AIEC 2024, held in Melbourne/Naarm on the lands of the Kulin Nation from 22 to 25 October. This four-day event brought together industry experts, educators, and policymakers, offering a dynamic mix of networking, learning, and celebration. With attendees from Australia and abroad, AIEC continues to be a key event in the international education calendar.
The 2024 conference featured an engaging program that tackled pressing issues in international education, with sessions on hot topics, expert panels, interactive formats, and ample networking opportunities. Attendees connected through Braindates and social events, fostering meaningful discussions and partnerships.
This year’s theme, “The Human Element,” encouraged participants to delve into the complexities of human interactions in the ever-changing digital landscape of international education. Educators, researchers, and thought leaders explored how technology and human connection shape the future of education worldwide.
The National Academy of Professional Studies (NAPS) was proud to be part of this significant event. We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who visited our booth at AIEC 2024. Your engagement and enthusiasm made the event a resounding success, and we look forward to continuing these valuable collaborations in the future.
NAPS (National Academy of Professional Studies) had the privilege of being part of the Study NSW Education Expo in Vietnam, a week-long event filled with enriching opportunities for educators, students, and stakeholders. The expo provided a platform to foster collaboration and explore new horizons in international education, particularly between Vietnam and Australia.
The event kicked off with a comprehensive briefing from the Department of Education and Training (DET) and the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), setting the tone for a productive week ahead. The highlight of the opening session was a heartfelt welcome from His Excellency Andrew Goledzinowski, Australia’s Ambassador to Vietnam. His words underscored the strong educational ties between the two nations and emphasized Australia’s commitment to supporting Vietnamese students who wish to pursue their studies abroad.
The expo wasn’t just about formal presentations; it was also a fantastic opportunity for networking. NAPS representatives engaged with industry leaders, educational experts, and potential students. The event created a collaborative environment where new ideas were exchanged and discussions about the future of international education were encouraged. These connections will help enhance the quality and accessibility of education for international students, particularly those looking to study in Australia.
One of the key takeaways from the expo was the focus on diverse academic offerings. NAPS showcased its wide range of programs, from Bachelor of Business and Islamic Business to Accounting, Social Work, and Information Technology (BIT). These programs are designed to cater to the diverse needs of international students and equip them with the skills needed to succeed in today’s global job market.
The expo gave NAPS a platform to highlight its commitment to providing high-quality education with a strong emphasis on practical learning, critical thinking, and career-readiness. The interactions with prospective students and educational stakeholders reinforced the importance of offering programs that align with both student interests and market demands.
The week-long event culminated in a memorable dinner hosted by EZYREMIT WORLDWIDE and Study NSW in the vibrant city of Ho Chi Minh. It was an evening filled with celebration, reflection, and anticipation for the future. The dinner was not only a fitting conclusion to the expo but also a celebration of the strong bond between Australia and Vietnam in the field of education.
As NAPS returns from Vietnam, we are excited about the future opportunities that this expo has opened up. The connections made and the knowledge gained will undoubtedly contribute to the growth of NAPS and its mission to provide quality education for international students.
With the backing of Study NSW and the Australian government, NAPS is poised to continue supporting students from Vietnam and beyond, helping them achieve their academic and career goals.
For more updates on NAPS and its programs, stay tuned as we continue to build educational bridges and open new doors for students worldwide.
The Study NSW Education Expo is an excellent opportunity for prospective students and their families to meet directly with the NAPS team, ask questions, and gain insights into the process of studying in Australia. Our experts will provide detailed information about course offerings, entry requirements, visa processes, and student life in Australia. This one-on-one interaction is invaluable for students who are planning their academic journey abroad and want to make informed decisions.
His experience with local and international private higher education providers has given him the skills required to work strategically with the NAPS’ Leadership team to ensure that all the users have timely access to appropriate learning resources in a range of formats. His practical information technology skills enable him to support students and staff to ensure they have the skills and confidence to access the best resources quickly so they can improve their learning and achieve their goals.
Mr Sigdel has extensive communication skills, including speaking Hindi and Nepali as well as English, and is the Chief Editor at The Nepali Times Australia (part-time). He also has experience in London and Nepal working in adult education and for charity.
Overview
In response to proposed legislation that would limit international student enrolments, NAPS is carefully evaluating how such changes might impact our institution and community. NAPS remains firmly opposed to these caps, recognising the invaluable contributions international students make to the social, intellectual, and cultural vibrancy of our campuses and cities. Our commitment to welcoming international students and providing a world-class education remains steadfast. We will continue to seek and support talented students from around the globe and encourage prospective international students to apply.
Importantly, these proposed caps do not currently affect students already enrolled in our graduate programmes or those pursuing an undergraduate degree who plan to continue directly into our graduate programmes..
We will keep this page updated with the latest developments regarding the proposed legislation. Please check back regularly for new information.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the international student cap at NAPS, and why has it been implemented?
An international student cap is a limit on the number of international students that can enrol in a higher education institution. In Australia, the government has announced that the cap for 2025 will be 270,000 for all new international students except for a few exempt cases.
NAPS aims to maintain a balanced, high-quality learning environment. By implementing the caps on international student enrolments, we will ensure access to resources and support services for all students, fostering a diverse and sustainable academic community.
2. How will these changes impact my application to NAPS?
While NAPS remains open to international applications, students may experience increased competitiveness during the admissions process. We encourage applicants to complete their applications early to secure a spot in NAPS.
3. Are there any priority admissions criteria for international students?
NAPS assesses all applicants holistically, but students with higher academic achievements, English proficiency, and alignment with NAPS’s values may have an advantage. Specific guidelines can be found on our admissions page.
4. How will current students be affected by the cap?
The cap will not affect current NAPS students’ status. However, some adjustments in class sizes and availability of elective courses may occur. NAPS remains dedicated to offering all students a robust educational experience.
5. What support services are available for international students impacted by these changes?
NAPS offers a wide range of support services, including academic counselling, and mental health resources, to ensure that all students can thrive in their academic journey.
6. I have an offer to NAPS for 2025. What should I do?
If you have an unconditional offer for Semester 1, 2025, we strongly encourage you to accept it to secure your place. For students with a conditional offer for Semester 1, 2025, we recommend meeting any outstanding conditions as soon as possible and then proceeding to accept the offer.
For additional support, please contact usadmissions@naps.edu.au
Updates and Important Notices
NAPS will continue monitoring government policies and the needs of our student body. We encourage students and agents to refer to this page regularly for the latest updates.
Towards Continuous Improvement Along Your Professional Journey
The act of being a ‘professional’ is not and endpoint, but a lifelong journey on which you continue to learn, unlearn as you consider new evidence, and then learn again. This view is supported by research in education as well as other branches of science, including psychology. Building one’s repertoire of professional skills involves constantly strengthening of existing connections and the generation of new ones.
Importance of testing
In converting study into mastering new knowledge perhaps the single most important strategy is to regularly ‘test’ yourself as you go. Reading and re-reading is not nearly as effective as testing yourself. Taking tests on the new material multiple times will result in neuro-coding, i.e. locking it into your mind. So, the pattern should be study, then test. Study some more, test again.
It is important that you see testing in a positive light. Recognise that emotion plays an important role in learning and motivation to learn. See testing as ‘learning’ not ‘evaluation’
Focus / alertness / motivation
Attention and focus are vital. Applying our attention and focus turns on the nervous system. Be honest with yourself. Focus and attention involve commitment and hard work. Successful students can force themselves to focus. They commit to put in the hard work. They understand that learning is meant to feel difficult. It requires effort. You can do hard things. Moreover, doing hard things is vital for personal and professional growth.
As philosopher Will Durant argues:
“The golden mean, however, is not, like the mathematical mean, an exact average of two precisely calculable extremes; it fluctuates with the collateral circumstances of each situation, and discovers itself only to mature and flexible reason. Excellence is an art won by training and habituation: we do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have these because we have acted rightly; “these virtues are formed in man by his doing the actions” we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit: “the good of man is a working of the soul in the way of excellence in a complete life;... for as it is not one swallow or one find day that makes a spring, so it is not one day or a short time that makes a man blessed and happy.”
Don’t make excuses. Don’t wait till you get motivated. Action precedes motivation. As H. Jackson Brown Jr. noted:
“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have the same amount of hours per day that were given to… Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo Di Vinci… and Albert Einstein.”
Seek feedback
Learners should actively seek feedback from their teachers, peers and other stakeholders. Constructive feedback helps identify areas of improvement and provides an opportunity for growth. Actively engaging in discussions and collaborating with others can foster creativity and lead to deeper knowledge and better learning strategies.
Use all your senses
Memory, learning and focus are also enhanced when one uses all your senses. See it, hear it, write it down and then test yourself on it to determine what you know, how well you know it, and what you don’t know.
Power of story
Another powerful strategy involves the interleaving of information. This is especially true in relation to the power of story to help you link elements together and trigger your mind and aiding recall and deeper synthesis of the information
Power of sleep
There is also a strong link between one’s physical and mental health. A good night’s sleep is vital for learning. Actual changes that come about in the learning process do not occur during focus, but during sleep, especially during rapid eye movement which tends to occur near end of first night following learning.
Nutrition and Exercise
Two other vital components of physical health that play a significant role in effective learning are nutrition and exercise. Good food and regular exercise increase your energy level and enable all biological systems (including the brain) to function at their best.
Mindfulness, meditation, posture and deep breathing
Focus is also assisted by mindfulness and meditation. Ten minutes a day, focused on good posture, breathing and regular meditation and reflection on your professional growth will pay big dividends when it comes to learning. (See e.g.’ Non-sleep deep rest (NSDR): https://www.sleepfoundation.org/meditation-for-sleep/what-is-non-sleep-deep-rest ).
Structure and plan your study
Learning will also be optimised if you schedule your day so that it supports optimal learning. Successful students schedule their study as definite period of day. They tend to have a definite period when they study alone and without distractions, including no phone or surfing the web. It is important to choose times when you know you are alert. Tell your friends-- no interruption!” –and enforce it. Our brains get used to being focused on a particular time. Developing and strengthening such a habit is a vital professional skill that will serve you well throughout life.1
Invest in yourself and commit to continuous improvement
Continuous improvement is the key to staying relevant in the ever-changing world of all professionals. It involves constantly learning new methodologies, tools, and techniques to enhance productivity and efficiency. By embracing a mindset of continuous improvement, successful professionals can keep up with industry trends and deliver better results.
Successful professionals should invest time and effort in training and upskilling themselves. Continuous learning and professional development enable testers to acquire new skills and stay competitive in the industry. By regularly updating their knowledge and skill set, learners can improve their ability to tackle complex challenges.
Continuous improvement is not a one-time activity but a lifelong commitment. It requires dedication, perseverance, and an eagerness to grow. By making continuous improvement a part of their professional journey, you can become more effective, efficient, and valuable contributors to your profession and wider community. Also, be curious. Know that there is always something new to learn. Know also that previous and current views must always be tested to ensure that current knowledge still applies to new situations. Curiosity is the fuel that drives continuous improvement. As continuous learners, we must always keep our minds open, stay curious, and embrace new challenges. Only by questioning, exploring, and experimenting can we truly develop new skills and uncover the hidden flaws and vulnerabilities in our current knowledge.
Take time to celebrate achievements
Professionals should acknowledge and celebrate their achievements at every significant step. Recognising the progress made, boosts morale and motivates learners to keep pushing forward. Celebrating achievements also fosters a culture of appreciation and collaboration with other members of your learning and professional community.
Emeritus Professor Eugene Clark
Graduates with a social work degree have many pathways leading to a variety of professional careers in public or private sectors.
Examples include:
In short, you will find opportunities for social work wherever people need assistance in negotiating the complex and challenging transitions that occur in life.
The Future is Bright
As shown by the examples above, the hard and soft skills learned in a Social Work degree are highly transferable and predicted to be in high demand leading to a challenging yet fulfilling career.
“There is no greater joy nor greater reward than to make a fundamental difference in someone’s life.” – Mary Rose McGeady
Emeritus Professor Eugene Clark
Educators today distinguish between “hard” and “soft skills.” Hard skills are the technical skills required for a job and learned through formal education and experience. These skills are specific and typically can be quantified or evidenced by experience or a certification showing you have completed a particular course or gained a qualification. Examples of hard skills include: computer programming, data analysis, copywriting, foreign language ability, marketing, etc.
Soft skills, in contrast, are more behavioural. Examples are communication skills, conflict resolution skills, the ability to relate to people, ability to engage in effective teamwork, etc. These soft skills typically are measured qualitatively.
While employers want, and successful professionals need, employees with both hard and soft skills, it is the soft skills that will in the future be increasingly valued and in short supply. This is the finding of the World Economic Forum Report which found that nine of the top 10 skill gaps required of todays leaders involve the acquisition and application of “soft skills”.
According to the Report, these high demand soft skills include:
At the National Academy of Professional Studies the development of soft skills as well as hard skills is stressed in each of our professional courses and qualifications. In addition, We conduct a series of workshops designed to guide students towards helping them to develop and enhance both their technical hard skills and soft skills."
While our first courses have focused on traditional, more technical’ degrees related to business, we are also developing additional courses which also provide students with the option to pursue a career that has a greater focus on these soft skills. We believe, as does the World Economic Forum Report mentioned above, that such soft skills will be increasingly important. We are committed to working on developing creative ways to integrate these soft skills into the student experience so that students, in turn, will transfer and build upon these soft skills throughout the life of their future career.
The National Academy of Professional Studies (NAPS) has recently been approved to offer the world a degree in Social Work. This for many reasons is an important milestone.
Looking more broadly and to the future, all professions, indeed the world, urgently need to adopt the attribute and valus underlying the “soft skills” involved with social work: service to community, compassion, dedication, care, problem solving, hard work, optimism, motivation, resilience and more.
These values and soft skills will enable future graduates to play leading roles in their chosen profession. This in turn will enable society to preserve our professions, re-invigorate our institutions, build a strong economy, promote responsible government, rekindle personal autonomy and responsibility, renew enthusiasm for public service, protect the environment and enhance the social capital that comes when professions do their part in supporting families and communities.
Emeritus Prof Eugene Clark, National Academy of Professional Studies
On Dec 2, 2023 was a keynote speaker hosted in Malaysia: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH FOR SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY (ICMASS).
My keynote address was entitled: Strengthening Legal Policies in the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities through Research and Innovation to Address Economic Inequality
The primary goal of this conference was to bring together science, technology, and management areas of research. While the Information Age has empowered an ‘explosion of knowledge’ it has resulted in increasingly specialised disciplines that talk seldom talk with one another and indeed create their own new language and vocabulary that makes them even more isolated. My main message was that: If we are to manifest the wisdom to use this new knowledge and technology for the advancement of humanity, we must get better at talking with one another, respecting one another, sharing our insights and finding the best path forward to a sustainable future.
In my short time, I made the following brief points.
1. Leadership
If we are going to create a sustainable future we require leadership—at every level of society. In the 21st Century we need to think of leadership not as a pyramid, but as a web with all of our disciplines at the centre of it.
We should also be mindful that “The Leadership Challenge” is in the words of Alan Keith is “ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen.”
Know also that everyone can be a good leader and good follower in word and deed, inspiring each other to be what we know we can be.
2. Pragmatism/Practicality/Operational excellence
In the world of academia, we tend to over-emphasise theory and ignore the importance of practical applications that make a positive difference in the world. As management expert, Simon Sinek argues: “Pure pragmatism can't imagine a bold future. Pure idealism can't get anything done. It is the delicate blend of both that drives innovation.”
A leading example of someone who combined vision and application is Thomas Edison, who noted: “Vision without execution is but an hallucination.”
Operational excellence
We need common-sense, operational excellence. It is easy to tear things down. We need to focus on building things. We need operational excellence--pragmatic, practical, common-sense applications and commitment to making things work and getting things done. We do this by taking one step at a time. As the management mantra goes: “Think big; start small”.
3. Institution Building
Leaders build institutions and institutions build lasting change. In today’s world, it seems that every major institution in society is under attack and failing.
It is vital that professionals from all disciplines use their talents to help strengthen the institutions in society: government, schools, family, law/courts, religious and philanthropic institutions, community groups etc
4. Inclusivity
Paraphrasing former US VP, Hubert Humphrey: The moral test of a sustainable society is how that society and its institutions treat those who are at the dawn of life, the children; those who are at the twilight of life, the aged; those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the homeless, the needy, the disabled, etc. While the world has many things on its agenda, it is imperative that we not forget the important needs of all of these groups.
Special Education Early Childhood Education. I had the opportunity a few years ago to serve at the CEO of a US company that was the largest private provider of special education services in the US. Not only did I meet some of the most amazing and dedicated people I have ever known, but I saw first-hand what a huge difference special education could make in the lives of individuals, their families and the whole community. I received numerous letters from parents thanking our organization for providing a therapist. Typical were the words of one parent who, wrote: “Thank you for giving me back my son.” Because of his speech problems he could not get along with his classmates or even family members. Your intervention changed not only his life, but our lives.” If a child is one of the estimated millions who suffers from autism and as a result cannot communicate effectively, that impacts not only the child’s life chances, but also creates a terrible strain on the family and the community network in which that child is a part.
The latest research indicates that the best investment in early childhood education and special education comes with early intervention, even before the child goes to school. The most effective intervention is that taken while the brain is in these early stages of development.
It is also important that we see people and disabilities, not as ‘problems’ or only as ‘broken’ but that we appreciate the tremendous contribution they can make to the world. This point is eloquently made in this little story by author Kevin Kling, who is himself disabled:
“Back in the days when pots and pans could talk...there lived a man. And in order to have water, every day he had to walk down the hill and fill two pots and walk them home. One day, it was discovered one of the pots had a crack, and as time went on, the crack widened. Finally, the pot turned to the man and said, "You know, every day you take me to the river, and by the time you get home, half of the water's leaked out. Please replace me with a better pot." And the man said, "You don't understand. As you spill, you water the wild flowers by the side of the path." And sure enough, on the side of the path where the cracked pot was carried, beautiful flowers grew, while other side was barren. "I think I'll keep you," said the man.”
We need to see people with disabilities, not for the cracks in their pots and what they don’t have—but for the many special talents they do have and the many blessings they bring to the lives of all of us.
5. Innovation/Entrepreneurship/Law as an example
Innovation and entrepreneurship are keys to the achievement of a prosperous, sustainable society. As Margaret J. Wheatley in Leadership and the New Science, reminds us:
"Innovation is fostered by information gathered from new connections; from insights gained by journeys into other disciplines or places; from active, collegial networks and fluid, open boundaries. Innovation arises from ongoing circles of exchange, where information is not just accumulated or stored, but created. Knowledge is generated anew from connections that weren't there before."
"We are living through an innovation famine, not an innovation feast—particularly in areas other than digital ... if we can do more innovation, we will not destroy the planet. It’s quite the reverse. It’s the safest way of saving the planet." — Matt Ridely speaking with Naval Ravikant
In common with other institutions, the legal system has struggled to keep up with technology and struggled to devise mechanisms whereby all citizens have access to services. In more recent times, however, suggest that new models are emerging that have the potential to re-engineer legal services so that justice and legal services are more accessible to all. Below is a summary of some of the barriers to access and how technology can help.
Knowledge barriers
In general terms technology advancements are leading to new models of learning that are tailored to the needs of individuals. Developments such as the Khan Academy have brought education to millions of people around the world. The higher the level of literacy in a society, the more informed and engaged its citizens will be.
Before the Internet, laws were found mostly in government, law firms and university law libraries. Law books were very expensive. Thanks to "open government" and other social justice and consumer movements, the laws of most countries are today freely available online. Just one of many examples, is the World Legal Information Institute. With almost 2000 databases on this site, one can find laws from over 130 jurisdictions around the world.
Today, websites can monitor activity, interact with users and tailor information and services to the needs of particular users. Aided by AI legal research will offer new solutions and even help resolve disputes.
Software can also help people navigate across many different government programs to help determine whether they are eligible for low-income legal assistance.
Language and cultural barriers
In our diverse and multi-cultural world, it is also important that the laws be made available in multiple languages. For those who do not speak other languages, software translators are rapidly improving. Moreover, many jurisdictions will make the key legal information available in multiple languages that reflect the diversity within their local community.
Software requires rules and standards to be effective across legal systems. This is the focus of projects like the EU Grotius Project 98/GR/131. Its aim is to promote consistent best practice standards in relation to legal interpreting.
Technology also has the potential to help better tailor legal education models to meet the needs of a more diverse student population and thus play a part in serving the educational needs of those underserved by traditional models.
Technical barriers
The law is also a language of its own and even native speakers can be intimidated by and alienated from a legal system that uses highly formal and technical language that is only understood by those with professional legal training. Software packages make it easy to provide links that put technical terms in plain language and diagrams that make it easier to see how things fit together.
Financial barriers
New models of legal practice, aided by technology, have promise to reduce financial barriers. Leveraging technology (e.g. electronic document assembly) one lawyer can today do the work of many. Virtual law firms mean that lawyers do not have to incur the costs of an expensive office and all the trappings that go with it.
Physical/geographic barriers
Modern courtroom designs are taking into account the "community of users" who are involved. For example, in Charlotte, North Carolina, jurors are provided with comfortable waiting rooms and various services (food, childcare, business services) that make it more convenient for them to wait as well as enabling them to carry out their daily activities while also doing their civic duty of jury service. Mobile courts are also becoming more common
Legal education barriers
Note the roles that virtue reality, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, gamification and other developments will play in educating the next generation of lawyers about the role of technology in enhancing access to justice
Time barriers
Technology enables a 24/7 world of work and access. In an Internet environment matters can be resolved asynchronously and after hours and not be limited to court times and normal business hours.
Innovation barriers
Lawyers and judges tend to be highly risk averse. However, in a time of rapid change and transformation, there is a need for the profession to embrace change and become more innovative or face serious disruption. Legal education, admission policies, law firm models, courts, legislatures, governments -- all aspects of the system must adapt and reboot in order to meet the needs/demands of an Information Age and an increasingly inter-connected, diverse and complex world.
Competition barriers
The legal profession in every country is highly regulated. In many cases professional bodies, such as bar associations and law societies, play a major role in this regulation. While such regulation offers protection to consumers of legal services, it can also result in anti-competitive effects that have inhibited innovation and made the profession resistant to change.
6 Technology tempered by wisdom
Isaac Asimov, Russian-born American author and biochemist wrote: “The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom." Similarly, Swiss author, Anne Louise Germaine de Staël, concluded: “Scientific progress makes moral progress a necessity; for if man's power is increased, the checks that restrain him from abusing it must be strengthened."
As we see in recent debates about harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI), if we continue to develop our technology without wisdom or prudence, our servant may prove to be our master and maybe even our executioner.
7. Optimism
When watching today’s news with its over-emphasis on all things negative, it is easy to be pessimistic. Indeed, a pandemic of pessimism and cynicism destroys families, undermines institutions and speads gloom and despair to individuals, communities and even whole nations.
Optimism and hope are necessary to inspire and generate the enthusiasm required to make the effort to make things better. As President Franklin D Roosevelt exhorted during the Great Depression: “Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.”
8. Urgency
Finally, it is crucial that we have a sense of urgency. As the poet, Rumi stated so eloquently:
Travelers, it is late.
Life's sun is going to set.
During these brief days that you have strength,
be quick and spare no effort of your wings.
Rumi
That urgency should be accompanied by a spirit that does not shrink from problems but welcomes them as opportunities to grow and bring about a better society. In this task our motto should be “Ad astra per aspera” ---“To the stars through difficulties.” John James Ingalls
Deans Blog
It is my privilege to write this blog. I wish to address three aspects – success and the steps each of us needs to take to achieve it, the actions of a successful student, and some suggestions for you to make it in this exciting pursuit of knowledge.
Success is a very value-loaded term. It is very personal but is shaped by many forces of influence since our childhood. For me, success is the opportunity to have the ability for continuous improvement of myself and the people around me. To have ability depends on context, connection, continuity, change, competition, and cooperation. For Alex, it depends on values and being in tune with herself.
Success is not external it is in you. Significantly, your heart does not lie about success. Please ask yourself what success is for you. You decide for yourself what it is and then decide the steps you need to pursue it.
As Pele, the famous footballer said, success “is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all love of what you are doing or learning to do”. Once you decide what success is for yourself, the next logical step is to position yourself to be successful. It would help if you organized yourself for success. These are some tips for you to follow:
I wish you the very best in your pursuit of success. Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of your successful journey. Until, next time…
Prof. Sivaram (Ram) Vemuri
Dean
Fraud, theft, scams, political disruption and more
AI makes it possible to create deep-fakes, ie fake representations of real people or events. Anyone who spends anytime on the Internet will know that there is a plethora of images, audio and video freely accessible. While some uses of deep-fakes are done for innocent fun, others can amount to spreading false information in the middle of a tight political race. In business deep-fakes can mislead people into believing that a product or service has the endorsement of a particular person or company. Deep-fakes can be used to commit fraud or make other deceitful representations made for illegal and dishonest purposes. It is also possible that deep-fakes become so common that people doubt the legitimacy of all such people or products.
Fake content can cause havoc and panic in the middle of a pandemic, cause chaos in share markets, obstruct justice or falsify information. Criminals are taking advantage of the technology to conduct misinformation campaigns, commit fraud , obstruct justice, sow dissent and division, and even bring down an organisation or even a government.
Another important issue is the potential of AI to breach security, facilitate identity theft, fraud, promote scams, and other crimes. Once an AI developer has such information it is a small step to create multiple versions of that person. These deep-fakes can be used to get access to health data, bank accounts and other important documents and information.
Designers of AI systems need to be aware of the harms that may be facilitated by this new technology. Ethical behaviour within organisations, effective systems of quality control, security and authenticity, and a culture of ethical behaviour are all vital. Externally, governments and industry bodies must also develop laws, regulations and standards that promote the ethical use of AI.
Lessening of Individual Autonomy and human interaction
Some experts fear that with increasing automation, we humans will become bored and lazy. We are not too far away from the reality that the world will be dominated and run more by artificial intelligence. What will this mean for the human race. Will we become passive, bored, lazy and out of touch? Will this disempowerment create and invite a takeover by artificial intelligence systems? Or, will a few elites, using these new and powerful systems, be in total charge with the result that individual freedom will be severely limited
An example of how AI can empower those whose agenda are to gain control over people and limit freedom is found in Carol Roth’s NY Times Best Seller, You Will Own Nothing: Your War with a New Financial World Order and How to Fight Back. The author and entrepreneur paints a picture of what would happen if a new financial world order controlled by global elites are able to gain the type of control made possible, for example, by eliminating all hard currency and enforcing a system of digital currency under the control of a group of government, international organisations, business and technology elites. She argues that a system of ‘social credits’ would accompany such a system enabling the elites to shut down dissent and control the general population. It will result in debt, deprivation and desperation. It will mean people own fewer assets and that we have less control over their lives thereby lessening the ability to protect one’s wealth now or for future generations.
These questions raise important philosophical, psychological, moral, governance, legal and ethical questions that must be addressed if society is to fully benefit from AI while at the same time managing the significant risks involved.
Mass Unemployment
As mentioned above, the workforce in an AI dominated world may be a dystopia for those who lose their jobs. A lot of industry disruption and job destruction will have to be carefully managed. Governments will have to carefully plan the transition for those industries that are severely disrupted.
Major service functions such as customer service centres are likely to be heavily hit as AI applications coupled with robotics rapidly replace many of these types of roles. For example, most readers have have experienced a chat with a company’s automated answering service. AI ChatBots will become increasingly popular and will replace many of the humans now filling those roles. Customer service A 2022 study from the tech research company Gartner predicted that chatbots will be the main customer service channel for roughly 25% of companies by 2027.
Another example is the fast-food industry. In common with thousands of other young people, my daughters gained their first work experience at a McDonald’s restaurant. Today, customers order via an on-screen kiosk In China AI robotic chefs can cook your food. Other robots can wait on tables and take your order.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are likely to be significant shortages of those people who have the skills to take up the new positions required to support the growth in the AI related fields. There will be a significant battle for talent. And, as in all battles, there will be wounded and casualties and wounded, winners and losers, the dominant and the dominated.
Education
AI presents many challenges for education. Students, faculty and administration will see their systems severely challenged by new AI applications. For academics, it will significantly change aspects of research and scholarship. Many of these developments will bring improvements. The ‘bad’, however, is that it riding this major wave of innovation will require vision, talent, resources, training, resilience and more. Many will fail. The system will be disrupted. The impact of how this all plays out remains unknown, uncertain, and unpredictable. A case in point is the decades long development of computer assisted learning packages. They have been very slow to catch on due to many factors: teacher unions fear job losses; the current model is built on the assumptions based on age level rather than development/skill level; educators do not have adequate technology skills; the financial models have not been right and authors are not sufficiently rewarded; people are generally highly resistant to change.
The other challenge for education is to define how it can best serve society by providing the learning, research and training required to meet the multiple needs and demands if society is to gain the benefits of AI and manage the potential disadvantages and harms that may be caused.
Law
At the macro level, laws and regulations will be required to provide the governance framework to guide society in the Age of the Machine. This will be especially challenging given the geographic limits on the application of law and fact that different countries will have different approaches. Underlying the formal legal regime will also be the reality that countries will have different ethical standards. Some countries will see it in their interest to press ahead, despite the risks, in order to gain a competitive advantage over other countries.
At the ground level it will also be important for designers and users of AI systems to be aware of new problems that might emerge. AI systems can and do discriminate. AI tools have the potential to embed unlawful biases and discrimination and do so on a system-wide scale and in a non-transparent way. This can impact decisions on who gets a loan, who gets hired, who gets favourable administrative decisions, who gets monitored by the police, etc. AI systems also use information, pictures and other intellectual property, all of which is loaded up into the application. This raises serious issues regarding the potential intellectual property violations that might occur.[2] AI also creates IP thus raising further questions about whether the existing intellectual property legal regime will include IP creation by non-humans.
Ethical and Personal Issues
As mentioned above, the growing development and application of AI to all sectors of human activity raises many ethical issues. It threatens the degree of human autonomy, challenges existing rules, laws and standards in society, threatens a loss of control, challenges expectations of privacy, and so on. A major question is the extent to which we can achieve agreement among nations or even between public and private sectors and other groupings within nations regarding central ethical issues raised by AI. For example, what should be the degree of transparency underlying the use of AI systems and applications? How can principles of justice and fairness be promoted and protected by AI development? How can we regulate and promote fairness, non-maleficence, responsibility and privacy in the development and use of AI?
There is also a psychological dimension to AI adoption that must be considered. While AI and its applications have grown rapidly, one should not underestimate the limitations and challenges stemming from the natural tendency of humans to cope with, resist and even fear change. For example, a major roadblock to the implementation of AI applications to augmented medicine is the reality that doctors and other health care providers have resisted such changes and not been prepared for it. Many patients, however, have welcomed its advantages in providing for a greater autonomy and a more personalized treatment.
More than this, as the impact of AI grows it begins to challenge the relationship between humans and machines. In doing so, it challenges traditional notions of identity, sexuality, gender, relationships and rules as new forms of discourse emerge to explain and govern relationships between machine and human intelligence.
Decades ago it was Internet, then the World Wide Web, then Steve Jobs and the Apple products that would change the world. Then came he cloud, social media, the Internet-of-Things, block-chain, metaverse, Zoom—the impact of technology continues to make headlines and AI brings all of these together. Over the last few months, the latest buzz concerns artificial intelligence (AI). Not a day goes highlighting either gloom and doom or promises of great things to come.
As a higher education institute concerned focused on the professions, the general consensus is that every major profession or industry will experience significant, and in many cases transformational, changes as a result of developments in AI. Health care, education, law, accounting, business, communications, transportation, retail, agriculture—all will have to grapple with the impact of AI in seizing its advantages while minimising potential risks.
What is AI?
Artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science that uses multiple disciplines including deep and machine learning, to build smart machines that are able to do complex tasks, including in some cases those that ordinarily would require human intelligence.
AI comes in two major forms: narrow and general.
Narrow AI involves the creation of smart machines that can do one task, for example, play chess. With large data sets and blinding speed and the ability to constantly learn, a chess computer can perform tasks better than any human. Evidence the defeat of world chess champion Gary Kasparov by ‘Big Blue’.
General AI (or ‘strong’ AI) involves the creation of smart machines that have a much wider or general application. An example is a robot or an android that looks human and can do a wide range of tasks, only faster, more consistently and smarter than a human.
AI Potential and Fears. Many experts write of the many positives that AI will bring to almost every field of endeavour. Reflecting upon the immense potential of AI Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee wrote in 2018:
“For more than 250 years the fundamental drivers of economic growth have been technological innovations. The most important of these are what economists call general-purpose technologies — a category that includes the steam engine, electricity, and the internal combustion engine. The most important general-purpose technology of our era is artificial intelligence, particularly machine learning.”
Most of the fears about AI are about general AI. At the extremes, some experts think What are the risks to humanity itself when most of the ‘intelligence’ in the world is machine made rather than man-made. The essence of these concerns is captured by world renown theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking, who noted:
"Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, it might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks." -
AI Issues for students preparing for a career in the professions.
For students pursing a degree in the major professions, here are just a few of the many issues and topics involved with AI development about which you should have some awareness:
Conclusion
Above all, today’s students as our future leaders in government, industry, education and all professions must develop a deep understanding of the nature and implications of AI so that they may enable us to have the knowledge to reap its rewards and the wisdom and responsibility to ensure its use for the betterment of humankind and society.
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