Empowering Education with AI:  Seminar Series 2

On October 11th, the second closed-door seminar on ” Empowering Education with AI” was successfully held at THIS. Ms. Li Wenping, the Executive Principal of THIS, specially invited three experts from the AI industry and academic fields: Mr. Hou Yang, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft Greater China Region; Professor Fang Lu, a tenured Associate Professor from the Electronic Engineering Department of Tsinghua University; and Mr. Chen Daren, the head of engineering R&D at Alibaba Damo Institute’s NLP Laboratory.

 Also in attendance were Mr. Shen Dashan from the Advanced Research Laboratory of the Main School, Mr. Zheng Zhihong from Haidian Educational Institute, Mr. Xu Yan from the Main School, leaders from THIS, STEAM curriculum instructors, IT department teachers, and students, parents, and teachers interested in the topic. This seminar was organized and hosted by Mr. Long Yuqing, the head of the AI and Education Research Committee (AI&ED Committee) of THIS, who is also a high school math teacher.

This past May, the first seminar on the topic of ” Empowering Education with AI ” convened, where over ten experts from various industries exchanged insights and discussed the era of “the future is now” in AI. They deliberated on how education can seize new opportunities and challenges to better empower student development. Building on the insights from the previous seminar, this event aimed to deeply explore the practical implementation of AI in education from the perspectives of students, teachers, and schools.

Guests shared their insights from various angles, drawing on their industry experiences and educational practices. They discussed defining AI education, building an AI curriculum, and offered potential resources and support. Teachers from THIS proposed possibilities for real-world educational applications and future project planning. A 12th-grade student from THIS shared their experiences and understanding of AI. 

As AI education is still in its early stages, there’s hope for extensive discussions with industry experts, school management, teachers, students, and parents to explore the endless possibilities and practical applications, fully empowering student development and teaching needs.

Setting the Foundation for Future Leaders – The school’s mission at Tsinghua University High School drives our forward-thinking approach to education. In the birth year of large model development, THIS established the AI and Education Research Committee (AI&ED Committee) to explore how to integrate AI into school education. AI impacts students, teachers, and schools differently; hence the committee’s work is divided into three parts:

Student is always the core focus. We are committed to developing AI courses that cater to the needs and teaching philosophies of THIS. Concepts of AI and no-code or low-code programming will be introduced to primary school technology classes, with additional mini AI classes in ASA. Middle school technology classes will gradually introduce basic programming and AI programming. In Steam classes, students will have opportunities to complete full projects with the aid of modern AI tools. High school students will delve deeper into AI programming and foundational mathematics, with added opportunities to participate in AI competitions.

Various AI tools can make teaching materials more vivid and engaging. Regular teacher PD workshops ensures that educators from all subjects can see the possibilities brought by AI tools. With these tools significantly enhancing teaching efficiency, educators will have more time to consider differentiated instruction and other strategies to improve overall teaching quality.

Collaborations with industry and academia will bring more resources to students. Beyond existing AI lab visits, we aim to expand possibilities like observing how AI-empowered industries assist society, from facial recognition to find lost children to image recognition in the medical field.

Student-centered and continuous empowerment of students is one of the core of Tsinghua International School’s educational philosophy and a feature we are proud of. With AI as a rapidly advancing frontier area, more collaboration with industry and academia is essential to bring the most appropriate and forward-looking education to THIS. The AI&ED Committee sincerely hopes to lead both the school and students to the forefront of the times, laying the foundation for future leaders!