As the new academic year starts across Belgium, universities and colleges are seeing relatively few new students flow into their IT degrees – and they are blaming artificial intelligence (AI). However, experts and students believe the situation is more complicated.
Last-year computer science student and archer on the Belgian Olympic team Jarno De Smedt (26) has seen his field change completely since he started college in 2018. Eight years later, a programmer transformed from someone who writes code to someone who tells an AI how to write code.
"There have been enormous changes to IT in a very short time," De Smedt told The Brussels Times. "I can understand why some students are worried."
And it seems that prospective computer science students are indeed worried, as recent enrolment numbers at Belgian universities and colleges show: at most universities, enrolment numbers for IT programmes this year are down between 10 and 60%.
The number of students opting for the graduate degree in programming at AP University of Applied Sciences and Arts – where De Smedt studies – dropped by 40%, and by 10% for the bachelor’s degree in applied informatics.
AI is being blamed for this decline, with critics saying that prospective students see how programmers are being replaced by artificial counterparts, how tech giants announce layoffs because of AI and how junior positions in IT disappear. All of that negative press pushes them towards other fields.
"There's a clear dip this year," Wim Casteels, the coordinator of IT and AI at AP, told The Brussels Times. "It’s a trend that most Belgian universities and colleges are seeing.”
Vibe coding
However, Belgian higher education institutions are not entirely sure this shift is driven by the rise of AI – even if it’s plausible that AI advances and tech sector layoffs are prompting students to pursue other degrees, based on students' accounts.
"It's an assumption, but it's a plausible one," said Casteels. "Big layoffs in tech have received a lot of media coverage, and companies have pointed to AI as the reason. Naturally, that creates uncertainty among prospective students."
Indisputably, the role of the software developer has been heavily impacted by AI.
Where programmers previously spent most of their time coding, that work has now been largely taken over by large language models, such as those from Anthropic, which are widely used in the tech industry.
"Before, the core of your job was writing code," said Casteels. "AI has usurped that. The programmer's job has moved one layer higher. Now, they need to understand conceptually how an IT application works and know what is possible and what isn’t."
Programmers' focus has now shifted toward high-level design and application architecture; that kind of foundational work remains crucial.
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According to Casteels, 'vibe coding' is enormously popular today. "That's where someone, who often isn’t trained in computer science, creates an application entirely using AI. But you still need someone who can critically review that app. That's where programmers come in."
An app generated by, for example, Anthropic's Claude might work fine for a single user, but if hundreds of thousands try to access it, it could break. Additionally, these applications often suffer from security vulnerabilities, leaving them exposed to hacks.
This, Casteels said, is precisely why skilled programmers remain essential.
However, this shift requires IT curricula to adapt. "A lot of IT degrees are wrestling with this," he said. "We need to support students in this new reality, where AI is a standard tool for developers."
Paradox
The technology industry federation representing the Belgian IT sector, Agoria, confirmed that junior positions in the IT market are being cut out: entry-level positions which involve simpler tasks are increasingly handled by AI, leaving less room for new graduates.
"The entry requirements to land your first job have gotten higher," confirmed Vickie Dekocker, Senior Expert in Education & Labour Market at Agoria. "The number of junior positions has decreased, but there's a paradox here because we actually need more programmers."
Even as entry-level jobs become harder to find, AI has fueled a surge in demand for senior developers, according to Dekocker.
An experienced programmer using AI tools can be more productive than before. They no longer need to spend long days writing syntax, which means they can deliver more results.
"AI is a question of productivity," said Dekocker. "Some companies have thinned out their layer of junior profiles, but senior profiles who can manage a virtual team of dozens of AI agents are more sought-after than ever.”
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There lies the paradox: seniors are in higher demand, yet the junior roles needed to turn fresh-faced graduates into experienced developers are disappearing.
Agoria is trying to solve this problem by working alongside companies and educational institutions to ensure a steady supply of IT talent in the coming years. This will require convincing companies to keep hiring junior people, while also urging schools to better prepare students for the realities of the market.
"You need to hire juniors for them to become seniors," said Dekocker. "This requires tighter alignment between companies and educational programmes. We can't keep education theoretical, and only include a company visit or internship in the last year. You need to align the entire curriculum with real-world company needs and train students accordingly."
No unemployment
In the meantime, Belgium still has a shortage of computer engineers. So even with fewer junior positions, the field still remains attractive. That’s what De Smedt, set to graduate in January, is seeing.
Despite the pace of AI advances over the past years, he isn't overly concerned about his own prospects. Nor has he seen his recently graduated peers struggle. "Almost none of my classmates are out of work. Everyone I know has found a job in IT."
So, while concerns may be justified, it might be too early to jump to extreme conclusions, he said. "It’s logical to fear being replaced," De Smedt concluded. “But right now, AI mainly strengthens my work.”
