Bank of Cyprus event explores AI’s implications for education and careers

Nicosia, Cyprus. Students joined experts at a Bank of Cyprus (BoC) event this week to examine how artificial intelligence could reshape education, jobs and career prospects. The discussion explored changing workplace requirements and ways young people can prepare for a labour market increasingly influenced by technology.

Students question future career pathways

The event was organised through the bank’s Young People Ask initiative, which belongs to its corporate social responsibility programme. The programme seeks to foster exchanges between young people and specialists about matters shaping their studies and professional futures.

Pupils raised concerns about AI and its expanding influence on established professions. They also considered potential new career opportunities and questioned whether conventional routes through education would adequately equip them for future demands.

Education and emerging technologies

Elpidoforos Anastasiou led the discussion, examining AI’s expanding presence in education and its potential effects on employment. He heads educational innovation for STEAM and emerging technologies at Globeducate and serves as head of innovation at Pascal.

Anastasiou founded the Cyprus Space Foundation and is undertaking doctoral studies at the Cyprus University of Technology. He also created Tefkros, the BoC Cultural Foundation’s first interactive museum guide powered by AI.

Drawing on his background in innovation and educational technology, Anastasiou considered how established occupations might change and which abilities could gain importance. He also explored how universities and schools could improve their preparation of students for those developments.

An employer’s perspective

Marilena Ioannidou, who manages rewards and organisational effectiveness at the bank, contributed an employer’s view of evolving labour-market requirements and job opportunities at large organisations operating in Cyprus.

Her contribution highlighted the skills increasingly sought by employers as technology reshapes business operations, together with the importance of adjusting to new ways of working.