IBM announced the AI Builders Challenge, a new global competition for university students. The company also reiterated its objectives to expand skills training and artificial intelligence (AI) readiness.
Justina Nixon-Saintil, the company's Vice President and Chief Impact Officer, stated the competition utilizes IBM Bob, an AI-powered coding agent developed by the company. The company plans to provide free access to the agent to 20,000 post-secondary institutions globally via its IBM SkillsBuild platform. Students participating in the AI Builders Challenge will develop projects focused on space exploration, creative industries, and intelligent work systems, submitting their work through GitHub. The challenge offers a grand prize of $15,000 and an invitation to IBM TechXchange, the company's global developer conference.
The company aims to train 30 million individuals in new skills by 2030, having already reached 22 million participants. Research from the company indicates that 67% of executives anticipate that mindset will be more important than skillset as organizations adapt to an AI-first economy by 2030. "What this increasingly requires is a continuous learning mindset. Mindset, not just skillset, is going to matter more as organizations reinvent for an AI-first economy," said Nixon-Saintil. "What worries me most is that students who do not build these skills may face fewer entry points into work and a harder time catching up as expectations continue to change. I would describe that as a growing AI readiness gap more than a fixed divide," she said.
A survey conducted by the American Association of Colleges and Universities and Elon University found that 63% of faculty members believe graduates are not prepared to use generative AI in the workplace. The company is redesigning entry-level roles to use AI for automating repetitive tasks. This allows junior employees to focus on higher-value work. The company plans to triple its entry-level U.S. hires in 2026. The company will host a webinar for the AI Builders Challenge on June 24, followed by a learning fest in August.
No independent assessment of Justina Nixon-Saintil’s claims was available.