Adobe and California State University partner to equip students with AI literacy and creative skills

Today’s college graduates aren’t just entering the workforce — they’re stepping into a world where AI has transformed every industry and sector. They need AI literacy and creative skills to navigate and succeed in an AI-powered future. University systems everywhere are building new programs to equip their students for this future, and the California State University (CSU) is leading the way with a groundbreaking new initiative to empower students with the skills most in demand by employers.

CSU, the nation’s largest public, four-year university system, recently announced the establishment of an AI Workforce Acceleration Board, a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership. Adobe has joined the AI Workforce Acceleration Board as a founding member, building upon our long-standing partnership with CSU to help ensure that graduates across all disciplines — business, healthcare, engineering, education, or the arts — enter the workforce AI-skilled and career-ready.

Bridging the skills gap for the next generation of workers

A rapidly growing creator economy and breakthrough AI technologies have increased the demand for AI literacy and creative skills across all industries. In California alone, the creator economy employs over 800,000 people — nearly 5 percent of the state’s workforce — and supports 875,000 local service jobs, according to Otis College.

Yet, there’s a skills gap. According to a recent Graduate Employability Report, nearly two in three (62 percent) employers believe candidates should have foundational knowledge of GenAI tools, but 55 percent of graduates said their campuses did not prepare them to use GenAI tools.

How Adobe is helping CSU students gain a competitive edge

CSU’s new initiative will equip students across all majors to learn how to use AI and to build their digital creative skills. The program builds on Adobe’s long-standing partnership with the CSU system. More than 300 Student Ambassadors from CSU have hosted workshops, participated in events, and engaged in professional development activities with Adobe to bolster their career readiness.

Five CSU universities — Fullerton, San Jose State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Stanislaus — have also become Adobe Creative Campuses. At an Adobe Creative Campus, all students, faculty, and staff have access to Adobe Creative Cloud apps, including Adobe Express. That access to creative tools with innovative AI capabilities encourages students in all fields to strengthen their digital literacy, embrace their creativity, and take charge of their learning.

Through this new initiative, Adobe will help CSU faculty and students:

• Gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge AI tools. Students can use Adobe Express, including its built-in AI tools, to create presentations, build resumes, or refine portfolios. With Acrobat AI Assistant, they can boost their productivity in their research. And with Firefly generative AI models, students are better able to bring their creative visions to life, no matter how much creative training they have.
• Develop creative and digital skills needed across all career fields. Adobe’s tools are used across industries. Gaining familiarity and expertise with these foundational digital tools will help set students apart in job applications.
• Prepare for the careers of tomorrow with AI literacy. In a world where AI is reshaping everything from storytelling to cybersecurity, students will learn to harness AI as a creative and analytical tool and be better equipped to stand out and succeed in an AI-driven economy.

A model for the future of AI-driven higher education

By embedding AI skills and creative digital literacy into every field of study, CSU is ensuring that its graduates will lead, innovate, and create in an era of AI transformation. With more than 460,000 students and 63,000 faculty members across CSU’s 23 campuses, this initiative will have a significant level of scale and impact and can serve as a model for other educational institutions nationwide.

As CSU Chancellor Mildred García noted, the establishment of this initiative “will elevate our students’ educational experience across all fields of study, empower our faculty’s teaching and research, and help provide the highly educated workforce that will drive California’s future AI-driven economy.”

Adobe is excited to help shape the future of AI-powered learning at CSU and we invite other universities, industry leaders, and educators to join us in ensuring students everywhere are ready for the workforce of tomorrow.