“Higher education in the age of AI is exciting and challenging,” says Laura Albert. “Universities must pivot to increase access to AI education that is focused on literacy and problem-solving and cultivating a culture of responsible AI use to prepare students for the workforce.”
Albert is an engineering professor at the UW who is shaping AI pedagogy in higher education and trains engineering students to be AI thought leaders. She earned a doctorate at the University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign and joined the UW College of Engineering in 2013. Albert has served as chair of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and as president of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences. She is currently a member of the executive committee for the UW’s RISE-AI Collaboration HQ, meaning she’s a leader on one of the university’s leading priorities.
She also created the popular blogs Punk Rock Operations Research and Badger Bracketology.
On December 9, 2025, Albert will join the UW Now Live to discuss her AI predictions for 2026 and how higher education should teach about AI to meet the needs of the economy.
My Chief Areas of Research and Teaching Are:
My research expertise is in applying optimization and analytical models to address important societal challenges in homeland security public safety, and critical infrastructure protection.
My teaching interests focus on the pedagogy of AI and how higher education must adapt its curriculum to ensure today’s students develop the critical thinking and professional judgment necessary to thrive in tomorrow’s AI-augmented workforce.
I am also a part of national conversations about AI education, and I contribute to initiatives developing AI curricula. At the UW, I developed and teach a course called AI in Systems, and I am actively involved in creating new AI education and credentials, including a certificate program for undergraduates in engineering and specialized short courses for working professionals.
On the UW Now Live, I’ll Talk About:
I’ll discuss opportunities and challenges with AI in higher education, including how the UW educates students on AI and how we’re preparing students for future jobs.
If There’s One Thing Viewers Should Take Away, It’s:
Institutions of higher education must rapidly adapt our educational mission to meet the economic shift caused by AI. We need to focus on training professionals who possess the unique combination of domain expertise and ethical judgment that is required to responsibly deploy AI in complex systems at scale.
To Get Smart Fast, See:
To learn more about the future of AI in higher education and the workforce, I recommend Ethan Mollick’s Substack One Useful Thing.
The blog posts I write about teaching AI in higher education can be found at Punk Rock Operations Research.
For those who want to upskill, I will teach two short courses about AI through the College of Engineering Interdisciplinary Professional Programs. Check out AI Fundamentals and Applications for Engineers and Artificial Intelligence: Strategy and Governance.
