UNO tells Regents it’s shifting to a skill‑based model: Career Connect, microcredentials and AI cited as growth areas

OMAHA — University of Nebraska at Omaha leaders on April 11 told the Board of Regents that UNO is refocusing programs to serve a “skill‑based economy,” emphasizing paid internships, competency‑based learning, microcredentials and AI training as ways to increase student job placement and retain graduates in Nebraska.

Chris Moore, a professor of physics and director of UNO’s STEM Trail Center, opened the presentation and described the city‑facing classrooms and planetary outreach that he said reached 16,000 young people through camps and public programs. Moore said nearly 2,000 UNO undergraduates used the center’s classrooms this year and cited data showing a measured effect: “a 1‑week session in our summer camps for third through tenth graders leads to a 15% increase in…