Introduction
Are you aware of a striking similarity between HRs and Gen Zs today? Both of them believe that the college curriculum is not preparing students for the corporate world. According to the Unstop Hiring Kart: Skills & AI Report 2024 , 93% of JR professionals and 78% of GenZ think that traditional degrees are becoming obsolete. This growing sentiment reflects the larger shift in mindset for today’s student. Gen Zs today are seeing how traditional degrees are not providing job-relevant value and are searching for better skill-based education alternatives.
This is where AI-First education emerges as an alternative. The AI-First Btech degree is aligned to meet the demands of future engineering career demands. It is designed to include Artificial intelligence education from the first year of the degree itself and provide hands-on, industry related training. This perfectly aligns with Gen Z’s growing interest towards purpose driven work. According to a 2024 survey by Deloitte , 86% of GenZ believe that having a purpose at work is key for job happiness and wellbeing. Hence it can be said that AI-first degrees which builds skills for purpose driven career is the future of engineering education India.
Growing Popularity of Tech & AI Degrees
The demand of Tech and AI degrees among GenZ is undeniably booming. For the newer generation, tech is a part of their everyday life and they have grown up with seeing AI develop. Their familiarity and curiosity towards AI and tech development has made AI and tech the most sought-after options for GenZ students according to Gen Z career trends 2025.
AI-related jobs are also growing at a rapid pace and roles in these field offer some of the highest starting salaries. Therefore, for digital natives like GenZ, a career that is innovative, impactful and lucrative such as AI engineering fits the bill perfectly.
This surge of interest in AI and new age tech has also been noticed by Institutes and universities who are responding to this increase demand by introducing artificial intelligence courses for students in their degrees or as certificate courses.
AI Application Across Industries
Artificial intelligence has grown beyond just a trend and is now being used across multiple industries for various sectors. Organisations now consider it an indispensable tool for their business. The global AI market size is expected to reach $1,811.8 Billion by 2030.
Industries like Healthcare are using AI for improved patient care by inclusion of assisted diagnosis, management of medical records, and personalized treatment. In Retail and ecommerce, AI algorithms are assessing customer behaviour, preferences for offering tailor made suggestions. For the operation of retail businesses, Artificial intelligence is assisting with inventory management, customer service, and stock management.
AI application in banking and finance sector is stopping fraud by detection and reporting of anomalies and transaction patterns which was not possible at such a large scale before. Even in the media sector, big platforms like Netflix are leveraging AI for improving content recommendation and user interaction with the platform.
These are only a few examples of AI application across industries. The scope of AI is huge. With AI becoming essential for businesses across the world the demand for skilled AI professional has also skyrocketed.
Limitations of the Traditional BTech degree
For far too long, the traditional B.Tech degree in India has been considered the gold standard for engineering education in India. However, students and industry experts alike agree that it hasn’t been able to keep pace with the evolving demands of the industry. These limitations Include:
•Out-of-Date curriculum- Most traditional B.tech degree in India follow a rigid, and theory-based curriculum. This curriculum gives little space for exploration of emerging fields like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science. Because of this, graduates from B.Tech programs find themselves unprepared for AI-driven job roles in the current market.
•Less Emphasis on Practical, Project-Based Learning- According to 2025 Deloitte Global Gen Z and Millennial Survey , 94% of GenZs value hand-on learning experience over theory. However, the 4-year B.Tech degree in India still lacks focus towards such practical, hands-on learning experiences. They are heavy on theoretical concepts and test and assignments reflect the same. Students get limited opportunity to gain lands on relevant learning because of this limitation.
Lab sessions and final-year projects are treated as formality by students rather than genuine opportunity to solve real world problems. In contrast, the tech industry values practical skills and hands-on projects which show real-world application.
•Lack of Industry professional and experienced mentors- The traditional B.tech programs rely on academic faculty who, while knowledgeable in theoretical concepts often lack experience with technologies themselves. This creates a disconnect between what is taught in classrooms and what the industry demands from graduates.
This lack of guidance from mentors in the AI and tech fields results in students missing out on practical insights, career advice and networking opportunities as well.
AI-Focused Btech Degrees as Alternative
According to a survey by Seismic, 96% of Gen Z say that having access to skills development is important to them. As seen from the reasons above, the traditional Btech degrees in India are not offering the skill development necccessary for GenZ students. This skill development gap in BTech can be addressed by AI-First Btech degrees. Such programs are emerging as alternatives because unlike the traditional engineering programs, these degrees are designed to equip GenZ students with future-ready employable skills in new age tech.
One of the main features of AI-first degree is that AI, machine learning, and data science forms the very core of the program. Such learn about Artificial intelligence from their first year itself. They then use these learning to create real-world AI applications, algorithms and solutions.
The hands-on learning and project-based approach followed in AI-first degree program is very different form the theoretical approach. Students here work on live projects, AI model building challenges, coding competitions and gather skills through internships. There are frequent collaborations with industry experts for mentorships and assignments.
AI-First Btech degrees also include emerging topics such as robotics, cloud computing, cryptocurrency and data analytics in their curriculum. This gives GenZ a diverse, interdisciplinary learning experience which they are seeking.
Why Choose Mirai School of Technology?
Mirai School of Technology’s AI-First 4-year BTech degree is a unique solution for GenZ students. Being one of the best colleges for AI-first B.Tech in India AI is in the very DNA of the degree at Mirai. The course is designed to include AI from Day 1. Students work with real-world AI tools for building AI models from their first year of college itself. The faculty consists of tech practitioners and AI experts from big tech companies like Google, Amazon and Adobe. So, students can be sure that they are gaining both theoretical and practical insights into the tech world.
The college also has the infrastructure required for building the tech of tomorrow. With Mirai Hub, AI Forge, MiraiVerse Lab, Sentient Robotics Lab and premium AI tools, students get the opportunity to create and stimulate AI systems like never before.
The Project and outcome-based curriculum consists of projects such as creation of job portals, building of monitoring tools, construction of decentralised storage systems, and more. This pushes students to explore their engineer concepts and apply it into the real world.
Conclusion
As the demand of the tech and AI industry is growing, AI jobs for freshers is one of the most sought-after careers in India by Gen Z. However, the challenges of the traditional Btech degree are limiting them. That is why they are now seeking AI-first B.Tech degrees as a dynamic alternative. The hands-on learning, industry related mentorship, and future-ready curriculum of AI-first degrees is driving this momentum forward. One thing that can be clearly seen is that Gen Z today aren’t just seeking degrees, they are going after opportunities for innovation in the emerging wave of tech.
Are you also looking to be industry ready for a career in AI and emerging tech? Visithttps://msot.org/ today to learn about our AI-first BTech degree.
