An open letter to the Academic Councils of the universities, Vice Chancellors, Federal and Provincial Higher Education Commissions, Departments of Education, Chief Ministers of the provinces, and other relevant authorities who can restructure and re-orient the Architecture of the faculties and departments.

This is the high time to change the whole faculty architecture of the universities from just thick paper called degree awarding institutions to skill development institutions. Degrees used to be of value before the year 2000, that is, in the 20th century; but no more.

According to recent data, Pakistan’s youth unemployment rate stands at approximately 9.86 percent for ages 15-24, with millions of graduates entering a job market where skill mismatches leave them unemployable or underemployed.

A World Bank analysis highlights that 38 percent of school-age children are out of school entirely, exacerbating the cycle of poverty and unemployment that degrees alone cannot break.

If the Vice Chancellors and other persons and institutions responsible to re-orient the universities in this age of generative artificial intelligence fail to act, they are complicit in perpetuating obsolescence.

The landscape includes AI agents, agentic AI, humanoid robots, drones, augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, extended reality simulations, 3D videos with high resolution, generative artificial intelligence, and foundation models.

Updating this, 2025 trends from the World Economic Forum emphasize emerging technologies like engineered living therapeutics, osmotic power, AI-generated content watermarking, and structural battery composites, alongside Deloitte’s insights on agentic AI and quantum computing that demand immediate curriculum integration.

AI agents and agentic AI (autonomous, tool-using systems)

Humanoid robots, advanced robotics and cobots (industry, services, care)

Autonomous drones, drone swarms and uncrewed aerial systems

Quantum computing and quantum-safe cryptography

Edge AI and on-device intelligence (phones, sensors, vehicles)

Spatial/XR/mixed reality and “spatial computing” platforms

5G-Advanced and early 6G networking (ultra-low-latency, massive IoT)

Bioengineering and synthetic biology (gene editing, engineered cells, bio-manufacturing)

Biotechnology and precision medicine (personalised therapies, AI drug discovery)

Brain–computer interfaces and neurotechnology

Renewable energy (solar, wind, green hydrogen) and grid-scale........

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