Collaborating on Educational Innovation in the Intelligent Era and Co-Creating a New Vision for Education 2050—Forum on “Towards Smart Education Ecosystems” Held in Beijing
date：2025-09-01 15:22author：adminsource：Smart Learning Instituteviews：
On the afternoon of August 19, the Forum on “Towards Smart Education Ecosystems” under the Global Smart Education Conference 2025 (GSE2025) was successfully held at Beijing Normal University. Officials, experts, scholars, and industry elites from domestic and foreign universities, research institutions, and international organizations gathered together to explore pathways towards a new phase of smart education, new ecosystems for regional smart education, AI-driven transformation in regional education, educational planning and governance in the intelligent era, digital transformation in regional and institutional education, support systems for educational digitization, along with joint pathways towards Education 2050, etc. This forum was jointly organized by the Educational Informatization Strategy Research Bases (Beijing, Central China, and Northwest China) under the Ministry of Education and iFLYTEK Co., Ltd.
Group photo of attendees
Mr. REN Changshan, Director of the Education Informatization and Cybersecurity Division, Department of Science, Technology and Informatization, Ministry of Education, P.R. China, stated in his speech that AI is profoundly transforming the ways knowledge is generated and disseminated, the paradigms of scientific research, and the models of education organization and evaluation, and thus becoming a crucial engine for educational reform. China has launched the National Educational Digitalization Strategy Initiative, adhering to the “3C” philosophy of “Connection, Content, and Cooperation,” and advancing the “3I” approach of “Integration, Intelligence, and Internationalization.” It has established the world’s largest digital education platform, propelling China into a new era of smart education. He emphasized that China released the White Paper on Smart Education, and designated 2025 as the “Inaugural Year of Smart Education.” The initiative aims to anchor the “Four Futures” (i.e., to cultivate future teachers, create future classes, build future schools, and establish future learning centers), integrate intelligent technologies into the entire teaching and learning process, pioneer new pathways for high-quality educational development, and collaboratively build a new global ecosystem for smart education.
Mr. REN Changshan, Director of the Education Informatization and Cybersecurity Division, Department of Science, Technology and Informatization, Ministry of Education, P.R. China
During the keynote speech session, Dr. Muriel Poisson, Knowledge Management and Mobilization Lead of UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (UNESCO IIEP), highlighted in her presentation titled Towards Smart Education Systems: Focus on Educational Planning and Management that AI offers immense potential for educational planning and management and aids in decision-making, resource allocation, and trend prediction. She proposed the four pillars of digital transformation of education: governance and regulation, infrastructure development, integration of teaching systems, and support for educational planning and management. She emphasized the imperative for addressing challenges such as the digital divide, data privacy, and algorithmic bias, enhancing transparency and accountability, and driving fair, transparent, and sustainable development of smart education through international cooperation.
Dr. Muriel Poisson, Knowledge Management and Mobilization Lead of UNESCO IIEP
Prof. Diana Laurillard, Emeritus Professor of Learning with Digital Technologies at University College London, UK, stated in her presentation titled From Human Learning via AI to Achieving the UN SDGs that smart education is driven by technological innovation. The CoMOOC model facilitates global professional collaboration through online cooperation and video case studies, enabling experience exchanges and solution development. She emphasized that teachers can utilize AI platforms to create and share educational resources, while students’ interaction records with AI can be submitted to teachers for evaluation, which forms a closed loop of “design—learn—feedback—optimize.” Teachers should focus on guiding students to think, experiment, debate, create, and reflect, and ensure the continuity of the learning cycle. It is essential to develop a stable online collaborative environment with an iterative feedback mechanism.
Prof. Diana Laurillard, Emeritus Professor of Learning with Digital Technologies, University College London, UK
Mr. LI Hao, Director of Shandong Provincial Museum of Educational Technology, emphasized in his presentation titled AI-Enabled Digital Transformation in Shandong’s Education Practice that Shandong regards AI as the key driver and the primary growth engine in its digital transformation of education. Through top-level design, increased investment, and the development of smart education platforms and demonstration zones, Shandong is driving the integration of AI into teaching, management, and evaluation. He pointed out that in response to challenges such as insufficient teacher training, Shandong is establishing a systematic advancement mechanism and implementing ten major initiatives for AI education in primary and secondary schools. These efforts aim to build a multi-tiered AI education ecosystem, and promote educational equity, and enhance quality.
Mr. LI Hao, Director of Shandong Provincial Museum of Educational Technology
Prof. Tran Thanh Nam, Vice-Rector of the University of Education, VNU Hanoi, Vietnam, shared Vietnam’s national digital education strategy in his presentation titled Vietnam’s National Digital Education Strategy: Charting the Future of Learning towards 2030, which aims to build a learning society by 2030. He pointed out that the strategy focuses on five key pillars: strengthening digital infrastructure and accessibility, developing digital competencies for teachers and students, building a high-quality digital resource repository, improving digital governance and oversight of AI ethics, and promoting collaborative applications of AI in Vietnamese language education. He emphasized that the application of technology must be human-centered and effectively advance educational equity and lifelong learning.
Prof. Tran Thanh Nam, Vice-Rector of the University of Education, VNU Hanoi, Vietnam
Prof. Nancy Law, Founding Director of the Centre for Information Technology in Education (CITE), University of Hong Kong, delivered a presentation titled Smart Education: Is It About Humans or Machines? What is a Smart Ecosystem? Exploring whether smart education should prioritize a “human-centered” approach or a “machine-centric” one. She pointed out that AI should not replace human intelligence, but rather serve as a “trustworthy partner” to empower teachers and students. She emphasized the need to bridge the digital divide, enhance digital literacy, and build a learner-centered smart education ecosystem that fosters higher-order thinking and collaboration through human-AI synergy, interdisciplinary cooperation, and co-creation.
Prof. Nancy Law, Founding Director of the Centre for Information Technology in Education (CITE), University of Hong Kong
Mr. ZHOU Jiafeng, Vice President of iFLYTEK Co., Ltd., emphasized in his speech titled Co-Nurturing with AI to Ignite Spark in Every Child that AI should serve as a super assistant for teachers and an AI learning companion for students to achieve symbiotic collaboration. He pointed out that AI can effectively reduce the burden on teachers by assisting with lesson preparation, teaching, homework grading, and classroom analysis, and empower them to transition from knowledge transmitters to mentors for student growth. He emphasized that for students, AI can provide personalized learning paths, intelligent Q&A, psychological support, and dynamic growth records, which can truly achieve tailored education and jointly unlock every child’s potential.
Mr. ZHOU Jiafeng, Vice President of iFLYTEK Co., Ltd.
Prof. HU Xiang’en, Chair Professor of Learning Sciences and Technologies at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, delivered a presentation titled Educators Work Together to Create an Inclusive and Impactful AI-Powered Future Vision. He believes that AI is advancing rapidly yet remains shrouded in “mystery” and carries potential risks, such as generating “hallucinations” and misleading information. He emphasized that educators should lead the transformation, as AI cannot replace the emotional connection and empathy inherent to human teachers. He pointed out that the key to education lies in harnessing the potential of AI while remaining vigilant against its misuse, cultivating students’ critical thinking, and transforming the “limitations” of AI into “educational opportunities” that foster deep learning and the growth of human wisdom.
Prof. HU Xiang’en, Chair Professor of Learning Sciences and Technologies at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
At the release session, Prof. LI Yanyan, Professor of the Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, and Head of the major project “Key Technologies and Application Demonstration of Intelligent Connected Computing for Learning Environments” under the 2030 National Key R&D Program — “New Generation AI,” unveiled the Vertical Large Model-based Intelligent Agent Platform for Education and Its Application Scenarios. Additionally, the initiation ceremony for the platform’s application demonstration was held. Mr. GONG Weidong, Principal of Shenzhen Cloud School, introduced the Guidelines for the Construction of Cloud Schools for Primary and Secondary Schools (Draft) in the form of a “digital avatar” and launched the release ceremony.
Intelligent Agent Empowerment Education and Teaching Application Demonstration Action
Guidelines for the Construction of Cloud Schools for Primary and Secondary Schools (Draft)
During the invited speech session, guests including Ms. PAN Beilei, Deputy Director of the Education Bureau of Minhang District, Shanghai; Mr. MA Jianwei, Deputy Director of the Education Bureau of Hexi District, Tianjin; Ms. NIU Wei, Deputy Director of the Education Bureau of Karamay City; Mr. LU Jinsong, Vice Director of the Education Bureau of Yichang City; Ms. DUAN Yuanli, Vice Director of the Education Bureau of Bengbu City; Mr. CAI Jian’an, Chief Supervisor of the Education Bureau of Guangzhou City; Mr. GUO Xiaming, Director of the Education Bureau of Jinjiang District, Chengdu City; Ms. HAN Dongxue, Director of the Education Bureau of Dadong District, Shenyang City; Mr. YE Yuxin, Vice-Principal of the Teacher Training School of Gulou District, Fuzhou City; Mr. ZHAO Xingwu, Deputy Director of the Education and Sports Bureau of Shizhong District, Zaozhuang City; and Mr. YE Yixiong, Director of the Education and Sports Bureau of Licheng District, Quanzhou City shared regional practices for digital transformation in AI-enabled education, enhancement of teachers’ digital literacy, AI curriculum development, and integrated classroom reforms. Their presentations showcased diverse pathways and innovative explorations in leveraging smart education to promote educational equity and improve teaching quality across different regions.
Invited Speeches
This forum was co-chaired by Prof. YANG Junfeng, Vice Director of Educational Informatization Strategy Research Base (Beijing), Ministry of Education and Professor at Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University; Prof. HAO Jianjiang, Associate Professor of the School of Educational Technology, Northwest Normal University; and Ms. MIAO Yaqin, former Deputy Director of the Bureau of Education of Changsha City and Expert Member of the Expert Committee of the Educational Informatization Strategy Research Base (Beijing), Ministry of Education.
Forum co-chaired by three moderator
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