Thinking Twice with Dr Steven Swanson - Episode #4

In this episode of Thinking Twice, host David Loo sits down with Dr. Steven Swanson, Chair of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at UC San Diego, to explore how AI is reshaping higher education and how universities can prepare students for both the changing workforce and entrepreneurship. Dr. Swanson discusses UC San Diego’s new undergraduate AI major — one of the first of its kind — and the department’s broader approach: keep computer science foundations strong, introduce AI early, and give students hands-on experience building, evaluating, and shipping real systems. The conversation maps that approach onto Andrew Ng’s AI Engineering Skills Map, covering how students learn to build and deploy AI applications, use coding agents well, retain software engineering fundamentals, and develop the product sense needed to shape what gets built. They also look at what employers now expect, how assessment is evolving in the age of AI-assisted coding, and how lower barriers to building products are opening new paths for student founders. The episode closes with a clear-eyed view of the opportunity ahead for universities that treat AI as something students should study, question, and help shape — not merely a disruption to manage. Chapters 0:00 Welcome and introduction 5:00 How AI is changing computer science education 15:00 UC San Diego’s AI major and four-part approach 30:00 Mapping the curriculum to AI engineering skills 42:00 Workforce readiness and student entrepreneurship 52:00 What universities should strengthen next About the guest Dr. Steven Swanson is Professor and Department Chair of Computer Science and Engineering at UC San Diego and director of the Non-Volatile Systems Laboratory. He leads the department’s AI education strategy, including the new AI major and work to keep CS programs both foundational and current. About Thinking Twice Thinking Twice looks past the first idea and examines what it actually takes to turn intelligence into systems, skills, and outcomes that last. Connect 2ndThoughts.ai — https://2ndthoughts.ai UC San Diego CSE — https://cse.ucsd.edu #ThinkingTwice #AIEducation #UCSD #ComputerScience #AIEngineering #HigherEducation #Entrepreneurship