Assessing the GenAI readiness of degree programs of Italian universities

The rise of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is reshaping industries and creating new roles, requiring updated cross-sectoral skills. This paper proposes a framework to evaluate the GenAI readiness of university degree programs, aligning academic training with emerging AI careers. It focuses on five professional profiles: GenAI data scientist, prompt engineer, ethical AI specialist, AI product manager, and creative AI specialist. A structured methodology maps required competencies against degree programs in Italian universities, applying a readiness Likert scale score (0–5). ChatGPT-4o is used to assess alignment between official degree program descriptions and predefined skill sets, producing both quantitative scores and qualitative feedback. Results show moderate alignment in some programs, with significant gaps for roles such as prompt engineer, ethical and creative AI specialist, together with some association between role pairs, such as between prompt engineer and creative AI specialist which require some similar skills. The framework supports students’ educational choices and guides employers and universities in strengthening GenAI talent pipelines.