THIS AI Education Model wins the UNESCO 16th ClassNet Conference

In today’s world of AI and authentic learning, The Asia-Europe Foundation in collaboration with UNESC and other global institutions deliberated what it means to be “Leading Change: Digital Transformation of Education in the Era of AI” at the 16th ClassNet Conference. Successfully convened in November 2023 in Ljubljana, the beautiful capital of Slovenia, this conference featured prominent scholars including Professor John Shawe-Taylor, Chair of UNESCO AI, Professor Ronghuai Huang, Chair of the UNESCO AI in Education, Mr. Toru Morikawa, Ambassador of the Asia-Europe Foundation, and approximately 70 teacher representatives from 32 countries alongside experts, scholars, and professors from across the Asian and European continents.

The journey to this educational conference commenced in May 2023. Principal Li secured one of the five application spots allocated by the Haidian District Education Commission for THIS and nominated teacher Long Yuqing to participate. After a rigorous four-month process of online lectures, forum discussions, and project designs, the AI education project of THIS, in collaboration with a Czech Republic school, rose through the preliminary stages, and was invited to the onsite conference in November. The conference provided the opportunity for participants to engage in lectures from AI research experts, educational researchers, and industry professionals, discussing, debating, and refining educational methodologies in the AI era.

The discourse was diverse ranging from voices from humanistic angles to others advocating for technological revolution. Mr. Long presented a more pragmatic approach, analyzing the primary and critical risks of AI in education. While navigating away from these risks in mind, he emphasized the amplification of students’ imagination through AI while cultivating holistic values in the process, as well as acquiring the latest in AI skills.

Mr. Long, together with his Czech colleague Mr. Benda, led their project to achieve the highest score from the jury, winning the top award for THIS. He not only represented the pioneering spirit of THIS, with the forward-looking guidance from THIS executive principal Ms. Li Wenping on AI education, and support from the platform she built which bring together science and technology experts such as Tsinghua University, Microsoft, Baidu, and Alibaba. It also embodyed the collective intelligence of all teachers (shout-outs to John Weil, Nish Sharma, Abraham Noor, Grace Ma, Jay Lamar, Jasmina Blazheska, Rod Escobar and others who engaged in AI discussions in school) who contributed ideas for the development of AI education at the school.

After the conference, Professor John Shawe-Taylor, Chair of the UNESCO AI, invited Mr. Long to join the committee as a empirical researcher, contributing to shaping UNESCO’s future in AI education. As Mr. Long emphasized, “unchecked AI may widen the gap in educational equity in the short term; however, leveraging AI for more sustainable educational equality is a critical research direction for educators in this era.” THIS is now poised to be a bold explorer in this endeavor.

Professor John Shawe-Taylor and Yuqing Long