How GCIT is tackling AI wiping out IT jobs and more

2026-03-23 - 08:51

The Gyalpozhing College of Information Technology (GCIT) was set up not only as an IT college in October 2017 but also as a center of excellence in IT. However, the rapid global rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) through various tools has led to the disappearance of many entry-level coding jobs in the IT industry, with several international companies downsizing their IT teams by relying more on AI. In the West, an IT college degree was a ticket to a well-paid and secure job, but this is no longer the case, as hiring has declined drastically and an IT degree no longer carry the same value and pull it had in the past. Given these fast-moving developments, the question now is, how is Bhutan’s only and premier IT college safeguarding itself or adapting its courses and students to this new AI reality? AI Adapted Courses The GCIT President, Audrey Low, said that GCIT has been pivoting and leveraging AI in its courses for the next productivity frontier for its students so that when they graduate, they are able to meet both the domestic and international demand. GCIT offers two main courses through its School of Future Computing (SFC) and School of Interactive Design and Development (SIDD). The SFC is a Bachelor of Computer Science program with strong emphasis in specialized pathways in AI and Full-stack Development (end-to-end process of building web applications including both the front end and back end), Blockchain Software Development and Cybersecurity all grounded in modern software. SFC also offers innovative Smart City and Technopreneurship electives to broaden students’ perspectives and entrepreneurial capabilities. SIDD is a bachelor’s program curriculum that emphasizes User Interface (UI) Design, User Experience (UX) research, Front-End Development and co-creation with Agentic AI for building intelligent applications and systems. Iterative prototyping, ethical designs and cross-disciplinary electives in Smart City and Technopreneurship aim to broaden learners’ perspectives and entrepreneurial capabilities in crafting engaging and transformative digital experiences of tomorrow. Beyond the classroom, students will actively participate and engage in creative problem solving, projects that mirror real-world industry practices, and maintaining design and technical skills with professional-standard technology stacks. Audrey said that AI comprises applications, models, infrastructure, chips and energy, and that given Bhutan’s small size and limited resources, it would be most practical to focus on AI applications for businesses and real-world use cases that require human cognition and skills to enhance productivity. Retraining She said there are hundreds of AI tools, which, together with industry professionals, were used to retrain the SFC computing faculty. She added that training alone is not sufficient and that implementation is critical. As a result, AI has been integrated into the curriculum, projects and real-world applications for both staff and students. They also started preparing for new roles like vibe coding, vibe design, vibe deployment and more. Audrey said that even the biggest businesses look at AI for productivity and profits, and at the same time, AI will not exist if there are no humans to use it. She said it is time for strategic pivoting for the next frontier. This is where GCIT opted to combined AI with traditional coding like full-stack to build competencies in software, AI services, AI models and applications. She said the approach should be to collaborate with AI. She said electives like Smart City, Tokenisation, Technopreneurship are to cater to new demand and skill requirements and create entrepreneurship opportunities which look at problems and use AI to solve them. Meeting Domestic Demand In terms of meeting the domestic demand, Audrey said that the 10X Economic Vision states that 20 to 25 percent of the GDP contribution must come from the tech sector with a lot of the focus being on AI infrastructure and datacenters. Audrey said that GCIT and others combined maybe be producing a few hundred tech graduates, but there is need for more supply to fill in the demand for Bhutan’s development trajectory, tech sectors and the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC). Audrey added that businesses are looking to use AI for speed through GEN AI like ChatGPT, optimization through AI Agents used in customer support, and finally automation where Agentic AI comes into play which can do coding and design. She said that in terms of real world use, Bhutan Insurance Limited and GCIT have come up with a Fintech Innovation Lab which has real world projects. To emphasize on dealing with real world issues, students are encouraged to come up with real world projects applicable to different industries. She said that while AI is there, it still requires humans due to accuracy issues and also the human customer connect. The GCIT final year has around 125 students of which 100 are in SFC and around 25 are in SIID. She said in the last three years including in 2025 there have been around 300 plus graduates coming from GCIT, and most of them have landed jobs in public and private institutions and some are even running and own startups. She said a small percentage have migrated to Australia to join their families there. GCIT students have tech roles in DK Bank, Rom Tech, DHI, Gov Tech, Thimphu Techpark, RSEBL, TashiCell where they are working on everything from National Digital Identity to Electronic Patient Information System (EPIS). GCIT is planning to come up with a Center for Remote Development to work with overseas partners for remote working. BIL has used GCIT students develop in house applications, data center, insurance and finance products, manage customer data base, mobile applications and it even came with the digital loan originator system (to track loans) that other banks had outsourced. GCIT teaches the Python language for programming. It is also developing cyber offensive and defensive programs that use AI and also programs to for cyber forensics to track digital crimes. GCIT currently has 412 students with 40 teaching faculty and has plans to expand to 600 to 650 seats in the near future. Audrey said the aim is to bring new modules, enhance subjects and always stay relevant. She said GCIT aims to help build sovereign AI products for Bhutan’s business and government, and also embed AI capability to enhance the economy. International Demand and Challenges In terms of International demand, Audrey said before the rise of Large Language Models (LLMs) the tech conglomerates focused on tech for good and came up with tech solutions in education, urban sustainability, poverty, climate, security, etc. She said now there is a race for who can build larger data centers, build the largest models, who can control the most amount of computing power, who can control the chips and which systems can overtake human cognition. She said for GCIT and Bhutan, instead of competing with the above or trying to own every layer, which it cannot, it must focus on its economic moat or specialty. Here, the focus and question for GCIT is what sovereignty actually requires and aligning back with tech for good. In terms of tech for good, GCIT is coming up with a Research Center for Excellence (RCE) Lab in partnership with partners from Singapore and Switzerland. One area is healthcare and innovation, like AI Imaging, AI diagnostics and prediction and AI screening and many more. The other is Decentralized Finance, Blockchain and Web 3 which will go to support GMC initiatives, digital assets and innovations, quantum computing impact, algorithms. The discussions will be for educational purposes and not political. The third focus area for GCIT is cyber security like offensive AI, defensive AI, forensic AI and investigative AI. In terms of AI sovereignty, there are three areas. One is AI Leadership and Governance due to the many issues that will come around AI, second is AI security to protect Critical Information Infrastructure, and third is AI Digital Assets. She said that AI must be for sustainability and world peace and solve world problems. She also talked about how Bhutan can play a role in Philosophical AI and see it as a branch of GNH policy, and here, there can be intellectual exchanges and dialogue. Audrey said that her students already undergo campus placement from Bhutanese companies and agencies, but soon there will also be international campus placement, including from companies onboarding to GMC. According to the GCIT President, Audrey Low, the best pathway to deal with AI-driven uncertainty is with curiosity. The best test for GCIT’s AI adaptation will be seen in the coming years as to how and where its graduates get placed, and how they adapt to a sector increasingly dominated and even replaced by AI.