On November 28, we welcomed 120 participants from Asia and Europe to the successful virtual launch of the 5th ASEF Higher Education Innovation Laboratory (ASEFInnoLab5) publication titled “Universities’ Role in Artificial Innovation (AI) Ecosystems by 2060 in Asia and Europe”. This collection of 16 forward-looking position papers produced by our online cohort outlines visions of the future in three areas aligned with ASEFInnoLab5’s sub-themes: AI Governance, AI in Education and AI for Sustainable Development.
We opened the session with welcome messages from Ms Reka TOZSA, Director of the Education Department at ASEF, and Prof SHEN Yi, Professor of SIRPA & Director of the International Research Institute of Global Cyberspace Governance at Fudan University in Shanghai, China.
Dr Claudio RIVERA and Ms Paula ELKSNE-REVELIŅA of the RTU Riga Business School—both Expert Facilitators of the ASEFInnoLab5 online phase—then introduced the publication, providing a background on its contents and the approach used by the authors in developing the papers included therein. In the main segment, select contributing authors shared their insights on the future of universities’ role in AI innovation ecosystems based on their learnings in the ASEFInnoLab5 project. These experts are some of our most engaged participants who joined us from the online to the onsite phase of this edition.
For AI Governance, Mr Pawel PUJSZO from College of Europe in Natolin, Poland described ways how universities can soften the landing of rapid AI growth, and Dr Rozanne Tuesday FLORES from Bukidnon State University, Philippines followed up with recommendations on fostering inclusive and ethical principles in its adoption.
- The second theme on AI in Education was covered by Mr Balázs HORVÁTH of Kimitisik gave key insights on what values universities should focus on in the future as they navigate the AI era; and Ms Aida NURANOVA from Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan outlined a vision for an AI-shaped university curriculum.
- Finally, in the area of AI for Sustainable Development, Dr Tehreem MASOOD from the Superior University Lahore, Pakistan spoke on opportunities for universities to leverage AI in sustainable development, and Prof Roman ŠENKEŘÍK from Tomas Bata University in Zlin, Czechia proposed moves for reconciling conflicting SGDs within AI innovation ecosystems.
These insightful contributions were followed by a discussion featuring questions from the moderators and the audience.
We want to thank all our guests, moderators, authors, and implementing partners for their participation in the ASEFInnoLab5 project—without their impressive contributions, this endeavour would not have been possible. We hope that our input into this area where universities, AI, and innovation ecosystems intersect will help higher education better adapt to, utilise, and leverage AI to make our world a better place.
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You can also watch the recording of our event here: