SVP, Chief Digital Officer & CIO, AstraZeneca
VP, Insights and Technology Excellence, AstraZeneca
Senior Director, Strategy Implementation & Business Transformation, AstraZeneca
We stay at the forefront of innovation by prioritising our people’s learning and development journeys and creating opportunities where we can all learn, adapt and grow in the face of new opportunities delivered by AI emerging technologies. Discover more from Cindy Hoots, Chief Digital Officer & CIO, Brian Dummann, Chief Data Officer and Vice President of Insights & Technology Excellence, and Maciej Szymaszek, Senior Director and AI Accelerator Business Lead, about how we’re supporting our people in the age of AI and what we’re doing to upskill all AstraZeneca employees.
Emerging technologies such as AI are rapidly changing how we work
From creativity to productivity, AI provides us with limitless opportunities to increase efficiency and simplify everyday processes and tasks. These technologies work alongside our teams to assist and augment human intelligence, transform and simplify our ways of working, and help drive innovation across our organisation.
Since the first wave in late 2022, generative AI solutions have become widely accessible. We are committed to upskilling our employees through activities designed to increase awareness and readiness so they feel equipped to use emerging tools and platforms to experiment with AI in a responsible way at pace and at scale. As one of the first pharmaceutical companies to publish principles for AI and Data Ethics, we are ensuring the safe, ethical, and effective use of AI to achieve our bold ambitions.
We empower our people to remain curious and prioritise their own development so we can stay agile in a fast-changing world. As technology becomes more integrated into our lives, advancing from automation to more complex autonomous agentic systems, we need to further evolve our learning practices. By giving our people the latest tools and resources available to upskill in AI, we ensure our employees are positioned for success, so AstraZeneca can continue to lead the way in the use of technology, including AI. Our digital and AI learning pathways are available to all AstraZeneca employees and are available in 12 languages, creating a digital community of learners across our company.
From Generative AI to Agentic AI and Beyond: Upskilling AstraZeneca Employees through AI accreditation
To support our colleagues in the best possible way, we partnered closely with Global IT, HR, Compliance and Business Functions to structure an enterprise-wide AI upskilling and literacy programme. Launched in 2024, this programme provides all employees, regardless of their experience or comfort level with technology, the opportunity to learn how generative AI can be used in their everyday lives. It equips employees with hands-on insights and practical knowledge to leverage AI, while also learning how to use it in a responsible and ethical way. Over 12,000 employees have participated to date, achieving Bronze, Silver, and Gold-level certifications, and we are very proud of their accomplishments.
Recognising rapid technology advancements and a shift to agentic AI, we are evolving even further this year with fresh content, new experiences and advanced levels of accreditation. Now part of enterprise-wide AI acceleration, we’re raising capabilities, improving confidence and empowering our people to thrive in the age of AI.
Learners can progress through a tiered competency scale – Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond - to build the AI skills and literacy that is right for them and their role. The programme offers a wide range of learning experiences from keynote lectures and lab sessions to reflection activities and strategic thinking workshops – encouraging our people to be curious, think critically, ask questions, speak up, and use AI in an informed and ethical way.
This programme will continue to evolve by providing upskilling opportunities in local languages to empower AstraZeneca employees globally.
Highlights from our Sponsors
Cindy Hoots, one of the programme sponsors, highlights AstraZeneca’s commitment to embracing AI as we push the boundaries of science to deliver life-saving medicines.
By upskilling our employees in AI at speed and scale, we’re future-proofing our workforce to make agile, informed decisions that drive both business and scientific breakthroughs. This isn’t just about keeping pace – it’s about leveraging AI to compress timelines, from drug discovery to patient delivery. When we equip our people to harness AI ethically and at scale, we unlock exponential potential: faster insights, smarter trials, and medicines that reach those who need them sooner.
Maciej Szymaszek, Senior Director and AI Accelerator Business Lead, adds his perspective on the rapid evolution of AI, emphasising our commitment to supporting our people in navigating this transformative era.
The AI we know today is the least capable it will ever be in our lifetimes. It’s getting better every month, every week, every day. As it evolves, far exceeding our expectations, it opens tremendous transformative business opportunities – bringing value, improving efficiency, and enabling innovation in ways we have yet to imagine.
