Sydney, 17 April 2024 – School-leaver service Anyway has launched a new Artificial Intelligence course to upskill young people in AI, made in collaboration with Microsoft and KPMG, at an event to rally industry support behind youth AI fluency.
The free online course AI Amplified which is part of Anyway’s Academy aims to provide all young people with the opportunity to gain AI knowledge and skills to advance their education and careers.
Led by insights from Anyway, Microsoft and KPMG’s 'AI Amplified: What Gen Zs Think of AI' research report, the AI Amplified program and supporting social campaign have been created to align young people's key life moments, interests and pain points with relatable and accessible AI solutions.
Guests from Microsoft, KPMG Australia, Commonwealth Bank, Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand, Tech Council of Australia, Future Skills Organisation, and the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation attended the launch function in Sydney’s CBD.
On the night a youth panel including Microsoft Data & AI Technical Specialist Bonita Rui, KFC internal marketing officer Ammaleah Astruc, and UNSW electrical engineering student and student ambassador Jason Ye discussed their experiences with AI while representatives from Anyway, Microsoft and KPMG told the audience about their intentions to foster youth AI fluency.
Anyway Co-Founder Will Stubley said: “We were presented with the question of how do we increase interest in the uptake of AI skilling to support this next generation to thrive in all aspects of their study, work and life? In this we were guided by the research where we asked young people which areas they most want to use AI for and have tailored AI Amplified to teach young people how to use AI to support the priority areas of work, study and everyday adulting. From these efforts we at Anyway, Microsoft and KPMG are aiming to help learners develop diverse, adaptable and universally applicable skills in AI that they can take forward to any aspect of their lives, from landing a job to budgeting for a new car.”
The course content of AI Amplified covers how generative AI tools work and how young people can use them in their education, to apply for jobs and to help organise their everyday life. It is supported by a ‘by Gen Z for Gen Z’ social campaign to connect key messaging directly with young people.
Supporting tech-marginalised groups, such as females and youth from low socio-economic backgrounds, through in-person activations that provide additional support and education opportunities to these groups, is also a focus of the AI Amplified campaign.
AI Amplified will also be provided to teachers, career advisors and parents through Anyway’s Career Tools platform to help them support their students in learning about and adopting responsible AI skills while helping them become fluent in AI themselves.
KPMG Australia Chief Digital Officer John Munnelly said: “Our recent report shows that half of students want to see more AI projects and activities at school – demonstrating a thirst for AI knowledge amongst young Australians. We are excited to be launching this course with Anyway and Microsoft and taking steps to improve young people’s AI skills. We are particularly challenging ourselves to support equal AI opportunities for all – with a focus on encouraging tech-marginalised groups, and especially females to engage with and learn more about AI.”
Microsoft General Manager, Corporate External and Legal Affairs, John Galligan said: “As the next generation of leaders and change makers, it’s important Gen Z students and young professionals are equipped with the skills to learn and adopt generative AI in a responsible manner. Many students are exploring the technology at school and university, but we need to ensure everyone has equitable access to generative AI to augment learning experiences and enhance their digital skills. At Microsoft, we’re committed to empowering every individual and organisation to accomplish more. This includes building inclusively and promoting accessibility as a fundamental right, which is why we’re proud to support the launch of AI Amplified with Anyway and KPMG, to help every young Australian to thrive in the AI era.”
The AI Amplified report’s comprehensive insights offer valuable guidance for policymakers, educators, and industry stakeholders aiming to nurture Australia's youth in an AI-driven world.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more.
About KPMG International
KPMG is a global organisation of independent professional services firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. KPMG is the brand under which the member firms of KPMG International Limited (“KPMG International”) operate and provide professional services. “KPMG” is used to refer to individual member firms within the KPMG organisation or to one or more member firms collectively.
KPMG firms operate in 143 countries and territories with more than 273,000 partners and employees working in member firms around the world. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such. Each KPMG member firm is responsible for its own obligations and liabilities.
KPMG International Limited is a private English company limited by guarantee. KPMG International Limited and its related entities do not provide services to clients.
For more detail about our structure, please visit home.kpmg/governance
About Anyway
Founded in 2011, Anyway is a Gen Z Publisher and Ed-tech whose purpose is to support young people to live happier, healthier and more fulfilled lives, and whose mission is to upgrade the school-to-work transition. Anyway’s suite of brands includes Career Tools, Australia’s largest school to work transition platform, with over 1250+ subscribing schools. In 2023, Anyway acquired Good Education Group, including The Good Universities Guide, The Good Schools Guide and Studies in Australia, together with Australia’s most comprehensive database of schools, universities and training providers.