On October 15, at the 2024 International Higher Education Forum held in Beijing, Ren Youqun, the Party Secretary of Shandong University, emphasized the necessity for higher education to actively embrace the era of artificial intelligence. In an exclusive interview with China News Service, he stated that higher education must push for high-quality development through proactive engagement with change.
Ren pointed out that artificial intelligence is fundamentally altering the ways people think, produce, live, and learn. It significantly encourages transformative teaching methods, moving classrooms and learning environments beyond the traditional, teacher-centered “teacher-student” dichotomy, resulting in a more innovative and open educational landscape.
He acknowledged that while artificial intelligence presents exciting opportunities, it also poses new challenges for the governance model of higher education and talent development, particularly highlighting the need for improvement in teachers’ digital competencies.
In his view, universities should explore new forms of educational instruction. This includes creating robust online teaching resources and utilizing technologies such as VR/AR and AI for smart education. Simultaneously, they should investigate new paradigms for scientific research by establishing digital platforms for information sharing and creating mechanisms that facilitate communication across disciplines, enabling collaboration between liberal arts, sciences, engineering, and medicine to spark innovative ideas.
Ren also stressed the importance of exploring new governance models for modern universities. This involves accelerating the development of a digital work system that efficiently serves both faculty and students, establishing a “smart hub” that can analyze vast amounts of data in real time to support informed decision-making, and building a high-level teaching and management team that meets the demands of the AI era by integrating digital thinking and methods into all aspects of university operations.
Another critical issue in higher education that Ren aims to address is the cultivation of top-tier innovative talent. He identified several challenges that need urgent attention, such as an exam-oriented mentality that stifles students’ creativity and exploration, limitations in resources that hinder effective talent development, and a singular evaluation mechanism that impacts educational outcomes.
As a major force in nurturing exceptional innovative talent, Ren believes universities should enhance their self-sustainability. This entails deepened foresight and comprehensive planning regarding the goals and pathways for cultivating excellence in foundational disciplines. It is essential to emphasize personalized educational plans and early research guidance while exploring unconventional, extended educational pathways for developing top talent.
Furthermore, he suggested broadening recruitment channels by integrating both “bottom-up” and “top-down” approaches in admissions, establishing a dynamic selection mechanism that spans the entire process, and creating evaluation criteria that align with the unique characteristics of top students in foundational disciplines.
In terms of faculty development, universities should leverage the exemplary roles of accomplished scholars, institutionalizing their involvement in cultivating top-tier innovative talent. Ren believes that creating an enriching educational environment can inspire students’ academic interests while enhancing their ability to integrate knowledge and solve problems.
Additionally, he called for deeper educational reforms. By adhering to the principle of integrated development of education, science, and talent, the aim is to drive profound changes within the educational system, boost financial investment and institutional support, and enhance the efficiency of talent cultivation through digital empowerment.
“International openness in education is essential for cultivating top-tier innovative talent and is a crucial path for building world-class universities,” Ren stated. He highlighted that as top universities work to develop exceptional innovative talent, they should foster mutual understanding, appreciation, and exchange to play a unique role in constructing an autonomous Chinese knowledge system. This involves both pioneering pathways for knowledge system innovation and serving as a bridge to promote the integration of knowledge systems on a global scale, facilitating an exchange of ideas and shared understanding.
