More than 16,000 people have registered for the University of North Florida’s AI for Work and Life certificate program, which launched Sept. 25 at 6 p.m.
UNF President Moez Limayem sat down for an interview with Spinnaker Thursday afternoon before the course went live to explain the vision for the program he’s helped spearhead. According to Limayem, most of the program’s sign-ups are external to the university, with only around 1,000 of the 16,000 registered being UNF faculty, staff and students, as of Thursday morning.
“AI is really changing the way we work, the way we learn, the way we teach, the way we do research,” Limayem said. “It touches all aspects of our lives.”
Limayem said the AI certificate aligns with UNF’s strategic plan by contributing to the outside community and university’s workforce readiness and development. He said it was important to him for the certificate to be financially accessible, which is why it will be offered for free until Dec. 31 of this year.
“We did not want the price for the certificate to be a barrier,” Limayem said.
The AI for Work and Life certificate was designed for flexibility, according to Limayem. It’s an eight-week self-paced course with eight modules teaching a range of subjects, including how to prompt AI and how to use it in different applications.
“It’s really flexible,” Limayem said. “If someone misses one module or two, they can go and watch the recording.”
Limayem said he wants UNF to be a leader in artificial intelligence and technological innovation. He said he and his team wanted the program to be constructive to its participants’ work and personal lives.
“The main purpose is really to train people and participants on how to use AI effectively, efficiently and ethically at work… but also in our lives,” values Limayem said he uses in his own work life.
“I always use [AI] as input to what I want to do—never as output. I think it’s a big mistake to use it cut-and-paste. It is a tool, it should remain a tool; it should not replace or tell you what to write or what to say,” Limayem said.
The UNF president said he personally prefers calling AI “augmented intelligence” instead of “artificial intelligence.”
“[AI] is supposed to augment our intelligence, not completely replace our human intelligence,” Limayem said.
“We will not be replaced by an AI system, but we certainly will be replaced by someone who knows how to use an AI system effectively, efficiently, and more importantly, ethically,” Limayem reiterated.
Limayem also said the university plans to offer more certificates like this one in the future, once they “make sure the machine is well-oiled.” He also assured that UNF is working to improve technological infrastructure as AI use increases, although he did not specify a timeline on this when asked.
“We are investing a lot of money on our IT infrastructure to handle this explosion of artificial intelligence and similar technologies,” Limayem said.
“I’m hoping it will put UNF on the map. These people will have a certificate from UNF. We will highlight the great work of faculty and staff and friends and I cannot be happier about this,” Limayem said. “This will really improve the visibility in a very good way of this great institution.”
On Tuesday, UNF was named one of U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 “Best Colleges” for the seventh consecutive year. The university improved from last year in overall national and top public school rankings by nine and four spots, respectively.
“UNF is no longer that ‘best-kept secret,” Limayem said.
To register for UNF’s AI for Work and Life certificate, visit unf.edu/ai/worklife-certificate.html.
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