Developing GenAI-literate Graduates in Social Media Marketing through Industry
engagement and Pilot GenAI Assessment

This project addresses the graduate skills gap by integrating industry-informed generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) practices into the curriculum. It commenced with an industry roundtable in June 2025, which concluded that the graduate skill gap has shifted from simply using tools to managing them strategically, critically, and ethically. The session identified that essential competencies for contemporary graduates now include prompt engineering, AI literacy, ethical reasoning, and the ability to apply human creativity and judgment where AI falls short. These insights informed the redesign of the Managing Social Media Platforms unit, delivered to over 900 students across six campuses. A key component of the redesign was the Personal Branding Assessment, which required students to use tools such as ChatGPT and DALL·E for content creation, alongside maintaining reflective logs to document their AI usage processes. The project resulted in notable improvements in student engagement, AI literacy, and ethical awareness. It also generated several transferable outputs, including an AI-Integrated Assessment Framework and an industry-informed staff training guide. Overall, the project presents a scalable model for authentic assessment that cultivates critical thinking and ethical responsibility in AI-enabled environments.

• Graduates must move beyond basic AI use toward strategic and ethical management of AI.

• Embedding GenAI in authentic, industry-aligned assessments enhances engagement and professional readiness.

• Mandatory reflection logs position AI as a tool for critical thinking rather than a shortcut.

• Continuous professional development is essential for educators to sustain digital literacy and adapt to evolving industry demands.

Professor Mingming Cheng (School of Management and Marketing)

Associate Professor Isaac Cheah (School of Management and Marketing)

Dr. Kevin Teah (School of Management and Marketing)

Dr. Justin Kitin (School of Management and Marketing)

Dr. Josephe Sia (Curtin Malaysia)

Jie Tan (School of Management and Marketing)

Jingjie Zhu (School of Management and Marketing)

Qiurong Chen (School of Management and Marketing)

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For further information about this research, please contact smrl@curtin.edu.au