Limassol, Cyprus. A Cyprus Seeds panel at the Doers Summit this week discussed how artificial intelligence is reshaping what companies, universities and training centres define as talent. Speakers said deep expertise must now be matched with adaptability, curiosity and the ability to keep learning.
Panel focus on evolving skills
The discussion, titled ‘Spot the Skillset: Defining Talent in the Age of AI’, was moderated by Andreas Papadopoulos, manager at PwC Cyprus. It brought together speakers from technology, entrepreneurship, research and education.
The panel featured Vera Solomatina, SVP People and Culture at inDrive, Michael Economou, founder of Exyde, Chrysanthia Leontiou, head of graduate school at The Cyprus Institute, and Ourania Miliou, education and training manager at CYENS CoE.
Papadopoulos said the discussion aimed to explore which skills matter in the age of AI and how they are evolving as technology increasingly cuts across disciplines, industries and job functions.
AI adoption as culture and change-management challenge
Solomatina said AI adoption should not be treated as a simple training exercise, but as a change-management challenge requiring companies to create the right culture around learning, experimentation and trust.
She said companies cannot introduce new technology and then expect transformation by directing employees to take a course. “You need to build this change management around this at the same time,” she said, adding that employees need to understand why the skill matters and why there is urgency around it.
Solomatina said this involves building communities of internal ambassadors who are willing to experiment, speak up and show others that new tools are important and useful. She also said companies are seeing a divide between employees who actively use AI and those who remain hesitant or resistant.
Growing divide in AI use
Solomatina said some employees already use personal and corporate AI tools, while others do not use AI at all in private or professional life. She said this will matter more as AI becomes increasingly connected to productivity and career development.
“Once it will be crucial for your career, once it will be crucial for your productivity,” she said, adding that the speed of change is faster than in previous waves of digital transformation.
How is your organisation preparing employees to adapt their skills as AI becomes more central to productivity and career development?