Language Spanish Portuguese

With over 20 years of experience in software development and education, the Jala Group recognizes that Generative AI is not just a trend—it’s a paradigm shift. At Jala University, we are preparing students to thrive in this new landscape by aligning our educational model with the realities of an AI-driven software industry.

The end of the traditional junior developer

In just a few years, the same AI agents helping students with assignments today will be competing with them for entry-level jobs. We must acknowledge a hard truth: the role of the traditional junior developer is rapidly disappearing.

Yet, software engineers will not become obsolete. What machines can’t replace are the very human qualities that elevate good engineers into great ones: critical thinking, creativity, emotional intelligence, and ethical judgment.

As Generative AI begins to handle more knowledge-based tasks, human-centric skills—especially problem-solving, collaboration, and adaptability—will become the most valuable traits in tech.

Rethinking engineering education

Preliminary tests at Jalasoft show that senior developers working with AI still spend about 65% of their time reviewing code and evaluating AI-generated solutions. In contrast, junior developers often introduce bugs—not due to lack of intelligence, but because they haven’t yet developed the experience, critical thinking skills, and technical expertise needed to guide AI tools effectively and assess their output.

To close this gap, we’re changing when and how students are exposed to critical AI workflows. At Jala University, students begin working with AI from the start—not just to use it, but to challenge it, analyze it, and learn from it.

Three stages of AI interaction

Our AI adoption strategy is designed as a progression through three stages of interaction:

1. Augmentation (Years 1–2): 
   Students use proprietary AI tutors (like Valis) to improve their problem-solving and conceptual understanding, while still being responsible for design and implementation.
2. Automation (Year 3): 
   Students start delegating routine tasks such as debugging, unit testing, and code reviews to AI—freeing them to focus on higher-level collaboration and solution architecture.
3. Agency (Final Year): 
   Advanced students work with agentic AI tools to delegate prototyping and architectural planning tasks. They learn not just how to use AI, but how to guide it responsibly. 

This incremental exposure strengthens critical thinking rather than eroding it. As noted in a recent CHI 2025 study by Lee et al., confidence in AI reduces critical thinking, while confidence in oneself enhances it. We teach students to trust their own understanding before relying on AI—ensuring thoughtful, ethical usage.

AI-Centric Curriculum

Our AI SAGA (AI Skills and Generative Adoption) curriculum ensures students gain both theoretical foundations and hands-on experience:

• Data Science and Machine Learning: Establishes solid data analysis and classical ML fundamentals.
• Deep Learning and Generative AI: Develops advanced skills in modern neural networks and generative models.

Together, these courses prepare students to not only understand AI but to apply it in real-world engineering contexts.

A new kind of graduate

We’ve updated our Student Profile to reflect this AI-first approach. Jala University graduates are not entry-level coders—they are mid-level professionals who can work alongside AI, understand its limitations, and deliver real value to teams and organizations.

They graduate with strong foundations in:

• Critical thinking
• Collaboration and communication
• Resilience and creativity
• Emotional intelligence
• Lifelong learning 
• AI fluency

Our mission is not to fight AI, but to integrate it ethically and powerfully into how engineers learn and work.

Learn more:

• We recently discussed these ideas in an interview with Michael Vizard on TechStrongTV: 
  [Is Generative AI Replacing Junior Developers? – TechStrongTV] 
• A summary is available on DevOps.com: [Is Generative AI Replacing Junior Developers? – DevOps.com] 

This article was written in English and translated into Spanish and Portuguese with ChatGPT.