Education summit puts the spotlight on AI developments
Education summit puts the spotlight on AI developments
From left: Mr Ernest CHAN, Vice-President (Administration); Prof S. Joe QIN, President of Lingnan University; Prof Raymond CHAN, Vice-President (Academics) cum Provost; Prof Xin YAO, Vice-President (Research and Innovation)
One of the standout sessions during the QS APAC Summit 2024 was the panel discussion which brought together leading academics to explore the transformative impact of AI (artificial intelligence) on the sector and vice versa.
Participants were asked to consider ways the AI technology can enhance learning, as well as how tertiary-level institutions are preparing students to make the most of new opportunities in an increasingly AI-driven future.
The early November summit was hosted this year by Macau University of Science and Technology with support from Lingnan University, and the agenda was specifically designed to share insights and perspectives on developments in the Asia-Pacific region and what they will mean.
Prof Xin Yao, Vice-President (Research and Innovation), Tong Tin Sun Chair Professor of Machine Learning, Lingnan University
In this context, the panel focusing on “AI for higher education and higher education for AI” not surprisingly drew plenty of attention and comment.
The moderator for the session was Professor Xin Yao, Vice-president (Research and Innovation) and Tong Tin Sun Chair Professor of Machine Learning at Lingnan University. Joined on stage by an impressive line-up of experts, he encouraged each speaker to highlight a key message based on their individual experience, but also welcomed a free exchange of ideas and opinions on what is happening now and what the next few years may hold.
The main themes and questions to address included what exactly universities should be teaching if students can get knowledge by themselves; how best to pass knowledge on to students if not in the traditional lecture room format; and whether the focus of higher education should be less on subject areas and more on solving real-world problems.
Prof Jon Garibaldi, Provost of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, and a member of the University of Nottingham Executive Board (UEB)
Professor Jon Garibaldi, Provost of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, spoke about how AI is already affecting learning when ChatGPT can generate answers which are good enough to pass assessments, if not excel, in a particular course.
“We have to think carefully about how to set and mark assessments and how, as educators, we incorporate AI in the delivery our teaching materials,” said Garibaldi, who is very actively involved in research in the field of computational intelligence. “Also, we now need to incorporate AI into everyone’s curriculum, so every student exits university knowing about AI. That means we have to upskill our teaching staff in order to deliver that.”
Prof Hong Shen, Chair Professor in Higher Education and Director of Center for Higher Education Research, Southern University of Science and Technology (right)
Referring to findings of a preliminary survey of 700 undergraduates at 20 universities in China, Professor Hong Shen, Chair Professor in Higher Education and Director of the Center for Higher Education Research at Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, noted several points on interest.
Students are using AI for assignments, research, and in their spare time, but universities have a range of different policies in terms of adoption and the limits imposed.
“Also, faculty members in China are far behind students in using AI,” she said, noting that the basic classroom model was still for students to learn from teachers and, in research into newer areas like hers, there remains some mistrust about the answers AI may provide.
Besides that, universities must remember the importance of cultivating creativity, communication skills, critical thinking, and problem solving. That is what society needs and expects, not over-dependence on what a system can generate.
“If we just rely on AI, our brains will be degraded,” Shen said. “We can move forward and exist together with AI, but we need some way to control it a little bit.”
Prof Wei Zhao, Former Rector of the University of Macau & Chair Professor of Computer Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
For Professor Wei Zhao, Former Rector of the University of Macau and now Provost and Chair Professor of Computer Science at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, it was clear that a certain amount of confusion still surrounds the latest developments and where they may lead.
“On the one hand, we are celebrating the new technology, which seems to be extremely powerful,” Zhao said. “On the other, because of that power, we university educators, students, people on the street worry that it will replace humans and leave us jobless.”
In his view, AI should be seen as nothing more than a tool, a machine that can ultimately allow us to enjoy better lives in the same way the invention of the car and the airplane did.
Regarding education, the process of acquiring knowledge and understanding will be as vital as ever because people want to grasp the how and why and learn for themselves, not simply be handed an answer.
“Universities will still be there, in part as a buffer zone, a transitional stage, for students before they go out into society and make a contribution there,” Zhao said. “That is my interpretation. In the process, we teach them calculus, English, Chinese, but that is a side-product.”
Prof Wanlei Zhou, Vice Rector (Academic Affairs) and Dean of Faculty of Data Science, City University of Macau, Macao SAR, China (left)
Following on, Professor Wanlei Zhou, Vice-rector (Academic Affairs) and Dean of the Faculty of Data Science at City University of Macau, spoke about the challenge of embedding AI in the curriculum of what is essentially a liberal arts institution.
In doing that, the first step in 2021 was to rethink the overarching vision and put the focus on pursuing the core values of digital humanities, social sciences and cross-disciplinary research underpinned by the use of technology and AI.
This has made it possible to create new courses geared to the needs of modern society and Macau’s intelligent service economy, as well as fast- evolving sectors like fintech. These options have proved very popular with students, and others such as interactive design and health informatics have been similarly successful in drawing on the expertise of different faculties.
“The next step was to do more cross-disciplinary research and international collaboration,” Zhou said. “We set up a lot of research platforms for digital science people to work with those doing business, humanities, education and law, so they were no longer in diffident silos. That is the way we think AI and digital technology can power up all our inter-disciplinary research and thinking.”
Prof Yuexian Zou, Professor of Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School and Deputy Director of the Shenzhen Association of Artificial Intelligence (SAAI)
In turn, Professor Yuexian Zou, Professor of Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School and Deputy Director of the Shenzhen Association of Artificial Intelligence (SAAI), confirmed that her colleagues have no doubt that AI will continue to transform teaching, learning, and whole industries.
“Everybody will face the effects,” Zou said, emphasising too that academics have to be at the cutting edge which, at Peking University, means using AI to help with the discovery of new drugs. “Preliminary experiments already demonstrate that this technology can accelerate the pace of finding molecules for new materials. This is a very exciting area, and graduate students who work with large language-models can get very good job offers.”
