The Future of Education

This paper presents the findings from a learning analytics exploratory project conducted across Secondary School, University Life Science, and General Education programmes at a leading university in Hong Kong. Over the period between 2021 and 2026, survey data were collected from 1,052 students across three distinct cohorts: Secondary School Students (SSS) enrolled in University STEM Programmes (n=467), Undergraduate Life Science Students (LSS, n=471), and University Students of General Education Courses (GES, n=114). Employing artificial (AI) technology facilitated descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and longitudinal trend analysis, the study examined four career readiness dimensions, namely career preference clarity, curriculum vitae (CV) self-rating, interview skill self-rating, and career confidence self-rating, together with personal value self-assessments, and qualitative open-text responses regarding sources of school happiness, sadness, and everyday-life stressors. Key findings reveal three consistent patterns: 1) Undergraduate LSS demonstrated the widest aspiration–versus-confidence deviation (mean = 1.75 points on a 10-point Likert scale), knowing what career they wanted while reporting the lowest confidence in pursuing it. 2) Career confidence among LSS has declined longitudinally from 4.99 in 2021 to 3.73 in 2026; whereas SSS have maintained stable scores (5.40-5.83 range). 3) CV self-rating was found to be the strongest predictor of overall career confidence across all cohorts (r = 0.645); whilst tolerance of uncertainty was the most universally self-identified developmental gap between 2021 and 2026. These findings demonstrated the utility of embedded, AI-facilitated survey-based learning analytics as a low-cost mechanism for tracking student career preparedness on course level. This study proposes that timely, data-driven curriculum restructure, particularly targeting at CV development and uncertainty tolerance, or resilience, may mitigate the widening career confidence deficit observed in LSC. Implications for course design, personal tutoring systems, and institutional career support strategies might be implicated for future direction of University Education beginning in the field of Life Science.