uOttawa’s Paula Branco was a math teacher in Portugal for more than a decade before deciding to boost her career by going back to school.
“I’m one of those people that came back to the university a few years after doing my first graduation,” she explains with a laugh.
While it was a big decision, Branco says re-skilling gave her additional cutting-edge technical skills—including those around AI and machine learning—that launched her into an assistant professorship at uOttawa’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Most people who go back to university don’t become professors. But for Branco and her colleague, Associate Professor Hussein Al Osman, the accelerating AI revolution means there’s never been a better time to reinvent your career. From finance to healthcare, marketing to engineering, AI-driven tools are streamlining operations, automating tasks, and changing the way businesses in Ottawa and elsewhere compete.
For professionals across all sectors, staying relevant means adapting, and that starts with gaining the right skills.
A labour transformation ‘as significant as the Industrial Revolution’
Branco and Al Osman say there’s a huge opportunity right now for members of the workforce—or those who may be between opportunities—to add AI skills to their CV and improve their careers.
- According to LinkedIn, AI-related roles have seen a 74% annual growth rate over the past four years.
- And 87% of executives say they’re experiencing skill gaps in their workforce, according to McKinsey.
“We haven’t seen a labour transformation as significant since the Industrial Revolution, except the Industrial Revolution was slow. This is fast,” explains Al Osman, an associate director at uOttawa’s School of Engineering Design and Teaching Innovation.
“Things are changing at a fast pace. There’s definitely a sense of urgency to try to acquire the necessary skills to allow you to maximize your chance of success,” he adds. “Digital transformation is happening now. We need to be ready for it, to have the right skills to benefit from the opportunities that are coming our way.”
The competitive edge of AI skills
Employers aren’t just looking for software developers—they want business professionals, analysts, and decision-makers who understand how AI can be leveraged for strategic advantage.
Branco says it’s “hard to think of any sector” that hasn’t been fundamentally affected by AI. “Most job seekers will need to have at least some AI-related skills, whether it’s understanding AI-driven data analytics, automation, or machine learning applications,” she says.
“Our programs target professionals looking to upskill or reskill. Some are already in the workforce, some are looking to change professions,” adds Al Osman. “We see a lot of students coming from business, healthcare, and other industries who recognize that AI will play a critical role in their fields. They want to come back to school or study part time so they can open up new opportunities for themselves.”
He says many students in the Faculty of Engineering’s AI-related courses don’t have a technical background. “These programs are designed to be highly customizable, because we know people have different objectives,” he explains.
“So it really depends on what they want out of the program. Students can tailor it depending on what they’re comfortable with and their career goals, and get introduced to these concepts while taking into account that they don’t come from a computer science background.”
Some of the AI-related graduate programs across uOttawa’s Faculty of Engineering include:
- Electrical and Computer Engineering with a Concentration in Applied Artificial Intelligence
- Master of Interdisciplinary Artificial Intelligence (online)
- Computer Science with a Concentration in Applied Artificial Intelligence
- Systems Science and Engineering with a Concentration in Interdisciplinary Artificial Intelligence
- Digital Transformation and Innovation
Specialized and technical AI skills include coding and other functions around natural language processing (NLP), computer vision and image processing, machine learning, and deep learning. These skills can translate into jobs across multiple domains including video surveillance, healthcare, drug development, surveying, marketing, and finance.
Cutting-edge practical skills, with an ethical foundation
Both professors say the main bonus of going back to university to learn AI is the combination of practical skills and foundational ethical guidelines that just aren’t taught anywhere else.
After all, says Branco, using AI without ethical guidelines or best practices can be risky and dangerous. “We don’t just teach students how to use or develop tools. We also teach students how to use and build them responsibly. And you really don’t get the full spectrum of what that means by taking an online course.”
Is now the time to upskill?
With AI adoption accelerating across industries in Ottawa and elsewhere, the question isn’t whether AI will impact your career—it’s how prepared you are to adapt. The right skills can mean the difference between keeping up with change and leading it, or falling behind.
As for Branco’s decision to go back to school years ago? She doesn’t regret it one bit.
“My advice is: If you’re thinking about it, don’t wait. Because tomorrow is already here. And these skills are just going to become more valuable in the job market.”
