Are We AI-Ready? Unveiling the Professional Development Needs of Faculty

This study examines academic staff’s needs in adopting artificial intelligence (AI) for teaching and learning through analysing 305 educators’ qualitative feedback who participated in AI-focused professional development programmes. Using a gap analysis with the TPACK model, the research contrasts current faculty experiences with their desired competencies. Results indicate a strong preference for hands-on, discipline-specific, and practice-oriented training, alongside continued expert guidance. Participants also highlighted challenges including insufficient practical content, time constraints, and limited contextual alignment. These findings underscore the necessity of tailored, sustained, and context-aware AI professional development informed by established pedagogical models. Recommendations are provided to guide universities and policymakers in designing effective strategies for AI integration in higher education.