The future of work is changing. Here is why learning to think critically, create with AI and develop practical digital projects could make your DofE Skills experience especially valuable.
For generations, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has encouraged young people to discover new interests, challenge themselves and develop skills beyond the classroom.
Today, one of those opportunities is learning to use artificial intelligence (AI) to solve problems, communicate ideas and create digital projects.
AI & Digital Entrepreneurship brings together two complementary abilities: understanding emerging technology and learning how to turn an idea into something useful.
This is not about encouraging every teenager to start a business. Nor is it about letting AI complete their work.
It is about helping young people move from passively consuming technology to actively questioning, designing, experimenting and creating with it.
Research from the World Economic Forum, UNESCO and the UK Government suggests that these capabilities are becoming increasingly relevant to education, employment and lifelong learning.
1. The skills needed for tomorrow's jobs are already changing
The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025, based on insights from more than 1,000 employers, estimates that 39% of workers' existing skill sets will be transformed or become outdated between 2025 and 2030.
The report identifies AI and big data among the fastest-growing skills, alongside technological literacy, cybersecurity and related capabilities.
But its findings reveal something equally important: human abilities are not becoming irrelevant.
Creative thinking, resilience, flexibility, curiosity and the ability to adapt remain essential.
This creates an educational challenge.
Teaching young people how to operate a particular AI tool is useful. Teaching them how to evaluate information, apply judgement, communicate effectively and solve unfamiliar problems is potentially much more valuable.
An AI & Digital Entrepreneurship activity can combine both.
For example, a participant might identify a problem faced by students at school, research its causes, develop a potential digital solution and use AI to experiment with possible designs.
The technology supports the process, but the student makes the decisions.
That distinction matters because technologies will continue to change, while the ability to learn, adapt and solve problems remains transferable.
2. UNESCO recommends that young people become responsible creators of AI, not just users
UNESCO's AI Competency Framework for Students, published in 2024, provides an important foundation for understanding what meaningful AI education should involve.
The framework identifies 12 competencies across four dimensions:
- A human-centred mindset
- Ethics of AI
- AI techniques and applications
- AI system design
Crucially, UNESCO organises learning into three progression levels: Understand, Apply and Create.
| UNESCO level | What it can look like in a DofE Skills activity | | --- | --- | | Understand | Explore what generative AI can and cannot do | | Apply | Write clear instructions, test responses and spot mistakes | | Create | Build a digital product or develop an idea for a real problem |
This offers a compelling way to think about the DofE Skills experience.
A beginner might first explore what generative AI can and cannot do.
They could then learn how to write effective instructions, test responses and identify mistakes.
As their confidence grows, they could apply these abilities to create a digital product, research a community problem or develop an entrepreneurial idea.
Throughout that journey, they should consider accuracy, privacy, fairness and the consequences of relying on automated systems.
The goal is not simply to produce polished AI-generated work. It is to develop the knowledge and judgement required to use increasingly powerful technologies responsibly.
3. Digital entrepreneurship turns AI knowledge into practical skills
Knowing how to use a tool is different from knowing when, why and whether it should be used.
This is where digital entrepreneurship adds educational value.
Entrepreneurship education begins with identifying needs and opportunities. It then introduces creative problem-solving, planning, experimentation, communication and reflection.
Young people do not need to establish a registered company or earn money to practise these skills.
Consider a 15-year-old who notices that younger pupils struggle to find reliable information about extracurricular activities.
They might:
1. Research the problem by talking to pupils and noting what they find confusing. 2. Run a short survey to understand which activities pupils want to know about. 3. Sketch a simple solution, such as a guide, web page or no-code app, using AI to explore layouts and wording. 4. Test it with a few pupils and record what works and what does not. 5. Improve it and reflect on what they learned about users, design and their own decisions.
None of this requires a business or any money. It does require curiosity, planning, communication and persistence, the same qualities the DofE Skills section is designed to build.
4. Responsible AI use: the learner stays in charge
A good AI activity should make a young person think more, not less.
That means using AI to brainstorm, explain, draft and test, then checking, questioning and improving what it produces. Participants should:
- Check facts against reliable sources rather than trusting AI output
- Protect privacy by never sharing personal details about themselves or others
- Notice bias and ask whose views a response might leave out
- Record where AI was used, so their own contribution is clear
Used this way, AI becomes a learning partner. The thinking, choices and final judgement belong to the student, which is also what makes the work honest and assessable.
5. The UK picture
The Department for Education has published guidance on generative AI in education, which recognises both the opportunities AI offers and the need for pupils to use it safely and responsibly, with schools remaining mindful of issues such as data protection and academic integrity.
A structured DofE Skills activity is one practical way for young people to build that understanding outside the classroom, with clear guidance and adult oversight.
6. How it fits the DofE Skills section
The Skills section rewards regular effort and visible progress over time, not a single impressive result. An AI & Digital Entrepreneurship activity fits that naturally:
| What DofE Skills asks for | How an AI & Digital Entrepreneurship activity provides it | | --- | --- | | Regular activity | A short weekly session of learning, practice and reflection | | Progression | Moving from understanding AI, to applying it, to creating with it | | Evidence | Prompts, drafts, designs, feedback and written reflections | | Assessment | An independent assessor reviews progress and writes a report |
Education Direct Worldwide is a DofE Approved Activity Provider. Our Online DofE Skills Course offers this activity at Bronze, Silver and Gold, with weekly modules, built-in evidence guidance and assessor support. Your DofE Leader and Licensed Organisation manage the other sections and final Award approval.
Looking for other options first? Browse our DofE Skills ideas, or read Can AI Be Used for DofE Skills? for rules, evidence and examples.
In summary
AI & Digital Entrepreneurship is not about turning teenagers into founders or letting technology do their work. It is about helping them understand a technology that is reshaping education and work, and giving them practice in spotting problems, testing ideas and explaining their thinking.
Those are skills that should stay useful whatever tools come next.
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Sources
- World Economic Forum, The Future of Jobs Report 2025
- UNESCO, AI Competency Framework for Students (2024)
- Department for Education, Generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education
Ready to start? Choose your level on the Online DofE Skills Course page. Bronze, Silver and Gold options are available.