Dominican University New York embeds AI across curriculum to prepare graduates for 2026 job market
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Summary
Dr. Manuel Martinez, president of Dominican University New York, told BronxNet that the school is integrating artificial intelligence across majors, launching an innovation and entrepreneurship center, and emphasizing soft skills and real‑world projects to boost graduates’ job readiness.
Dr. Manuel Martinez, president of Dominican University New York, said the university is embedding artificial intelligence across its curriculum so graduates from any major will be prepared for a rapidly changing job market.
"So to that end, what we're implementing is AI across the curriculum," Martinez said, adding that students will learn not only how tools work but how to apply them and evaluate their ethical implications.
The move, Martinez said, responds to growing employer demand for both technical skills and the contextual, critical‑thinking abilities that liberal arts study fosters. He recalled conversations with entrepreneurs who told him they expect graduates to arrive with core technical competencies and instead value graduates who can "read and write and think critically and be a moral agent on the world stage."
To give students practical experience, Martinez described plans for an innovation and entrepreneurship center that will connect students directly with business leaders. The center will offer consulting projects for small businesses—often unable to pay for marketing or cybersecurity help—and certify that experience with digital badges students can show on professional profiles.
Martinez said the combination of classroom learning, applied projects and employer engagement creates a feedback loop that will keep the curriculum aligned with workforce needs. "As they do that, we'll be certifying that experience through digital badges to make sure that once they graduate, they can put it on LinkedIn and have the metadata that says these are the projects that I consulted on," he said.
When asked whether liberal arts and humanities remain viable in the job market, Martinez said soft skills have lasting value because hard technical skills can become outdated. "The skills that you graduate with today may not be the skills that'll keep you relevant, the hard skills, in 5 or 10 years," he said, arguing that critical thinking and problem solving help graduates adapt.
On recruitment, Martinez said city students respond positively to campus visits and highlighted the university’s location and campus atmosphere. "It's close to the city, convenient, and yet far enough away where the atmosphere is one of suburban calm," he said.
The interview did not include formal announcements about new degree programs, tuition changes or enrollment deadlines. For more information, the hosts directed listeners to the university website, duny.edu. The program closed with a reminder to follow BronxNet TV and the New York City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on social media.
