The AI+Education Forum, themed “Reimagining the University for an AI-Driven Future," was held in Shanghai on July 17 during the 2026 World AI Conference (WAIC) and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance.
Xu Qingsen, vice minister of Education, and Xie Dong, vice mayor of Shanghai, addressed the forum. Li Luming, president of Tsinghua University and chair of the AI Open Alliance, delivered a work report titled “Open Collaboration, Co-construction and Shared Benefits: Innovative Practices and Future Prospects of the AI Open Alliance.” The forum was chaired by Wu Huaqiang, vice president of Tsinghua University and secretary-general of the AI Open Alliance.
Xu Qingsen said that artificial intelligence is profoundly reshaping the landscape of education. China is advancing the National Strategy for Digital Education and has launched the “AI Plus Education” initiative. He stressed the need to remain committed to a people-centered approach, promoting deep integration, and ensuring AI is developed in an open and beneficial manner. He called for reshaping talent cultivation through human-AI co-education, transforming paradigms for teaching and research through AI empowerment, and fostering a collaborative governance ecosystem for education, so as to make new and greater contributions to the progress of human civilization.
Xie Dong said that Shanghai has identified artificial intelligence as a pioneering industry and is accelerating efforts to build a globally competitive hub for AI innovation. Looking ahead, Shanghai will continue to work with the global education, science and technology, and industrial communities to promote the mutual empowerment of AI and higher education, advance exchanges and cooperation on best practices, deepen collaborative innovation between industry and education, support young people in pursuing innovation, and explore the boundless potential of AI together.
The AI+Education Forum is held at the 2026 WAIC, bringing together nearly 1,300 global scholars to discuss AI transformation in universities.
Li Luming introduced the mission, objectives, operational mechanism and achievements of the AI Open Alliance. He said that since its establishment, the Alliance has proactively contributed to broader national efforts to advance open cooperation in artificial intelligence and continuously improved its institutional framework. The Alliance has achieved significant progress in AI for education, AI for science, AI fundamental engineering, AI ethics and governance, and global AI collaboration. Looking ahead, Tsinghua University will continue to fully support the development of the Alliance and, together with all Alliance members, uphold openness and collaboration, pursue joint development and shared success, and strive to make the Alliance a source of innovation in AI technologies, an important platform for international cooperation in artificial intelligence, and a strategic hub for advancing AI talent cultivation. Together, Tsinghua University and all Alliance members will lead the global development of AI-enabled education, promote the development of ecosystems for intelligent computing, collaborative innovation and open sharing, and make greater contributions to building China into a leading country in education, science and technology, and talent development.
During the keynote session, Turing Award laureate Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, dean of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences and dean of the College of AI at Tsinghua University, and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, delivered a keynote speech titled "Reflections on Talent Development in the Intelligent Era." He emphasized that talent development should foster both innovative thinking and strong execution capabilities.
Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Tsinghua Chair Professor, and foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Omar M. Yaghi delivered a keynote speech titled "University Research and Mentoring in the Age of AI." He noted that scientific research should shift its focus from asking "What should we create?" to asking "Why should we create?"
Mutlu Cukurova, Professor of Learning and Artificial Intelligence at the University College London, delivered a keynote speech titled "The Talent Paradox: From AI That Outperforms Us to AI That Grows Us." He said that a people-centered approach should guide the restructuring of education systems for human-AI collaboration.
Presidents' Dialogue at the 2026 WAIC AI+Education Forum
Li Luming moderated the Presidents' Dialogue, where he joined Gao Song, president of Peking University; Han Jiecai, president of Harbin Institute of Technology; Ding Kuiling, president of Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Ma Yugang, president of East China Normal University; You Zheng, president of Huazhong University of Science and Technology; and Lionel Ming-Shuan NI, president of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), in an in-depth discussion on how universities can transform in the age of AI.
During the Expert Presentation, Dragan Gasevic, Chair Professor of Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong, and Zachary A. Pardos, Director of the Computational Approaches to Human Learning Research Lab, University of California, Berkeley, delivered presentations titled "Productive Human-AI Interaction Requires Human Learning" and "Advances in Adaptive Learning for Higher Education," respectively, drawing on their own teaching and research experiences.
The forum also featured " AI-Empowered Education Practice Showcases," where Peking University, Fudan University, Tencent, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, East China Normal University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen Loop Area Institute, and Huawei presented their achievements.
The forum was held under the guidance of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference Committee and hosted by the AI Open Alliance, with Tsinghua University, Peking University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, East China Normal University and Huazhong University of Science and Technology serving as co-organizers. Nearly 1,300 experts and scholars from both China and abroad attended the forum.
Editors: Li Han, John Paul Grima
