The #ASEFInnoLab Series
In line with the Asia-Europe Foundation’s mission, we create opportunities for higher education stakeholders from Asia and Europe to meet, learn from each other, and build capacity to collaboratively address common global challenges.
We believe higher education academics and senior administrators are in a unique position to transform and modernise their higher education institutions by introducing tech-savvy, inclusive and sustainable policies that positively impact students, staff and the organisation itself.
Since 2021, ASEF has organised six editions of the ASEF Higher Education Innovation Laboratory (ASEFInnoLab). Through this platform, we have brought together more than 550 representatives from higher education institutions (HEIs) all over Asia and Europe.
To date, 99% of our alumni strongly recommend this unique opportunity for higher education stakeholders to exchange good practices and co-create ideas that move away from business as usual and into collaboratively developing something extraordinary.
Speakers from Previous Editions
Through its previous editions, the ASEFInnoLab series has invited esteemed speakers from all over the globe to talk about AI, innovation ecosystems, teaching and learning, research and industry, technology transfer, and leadership, among many other topics.
Representing various sectors and perspectives, these speakers have enriched the programme in terms of the knowledge, networks, and experience that ASEFInnoLab participants walk away with at the end of the programme.
The ASEFInnoLab7 Project
In its seventh edition, the project will bring together outstanding experts, scholars, and changemakers to explore universities’ role in advancing AI for humanity’s benefit.
This project will serve as a groundbreaking design thinking laboratory where our participants will:
IMPROVE
FOSTER
INFORM & INFLUENCE
General Information
What’s the topic?
AI is increasingly permeating every aspect of human life and has emerged as a transformative force shaping societies, economies, and institutions worldwide. As its capabilities and applications continue to expand, AI has begun to significantly shape progress across many sectors, including those critical to sustainable development.
AI is found to be a potential enabler for achieving many of the social, economic, and environmental targets under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, significant trade-offs and gaps remain. How can developing and low-income countries harness AI in a manner that is anchored in their own values, priorities, and local contexts? As AI applications increasingly rely on large-scale data processing, how can the needs of innovation be balanced with data protection, safety, and accountability? Persistent concerns also remain around inequalities in access and benefits, bias and discrimination, erosion of social cohesion and effects on societal resilience, and the ethical frameworks needed to govern AI’s growing influence.
It is within this complex and evolving landscape that universities assume a critical, impactful role. As centres of learning, engines of innovation and knowledge creation, and ethical anchors, higher education institutions (HEIs) occupy a central role in shaping how AI is researched, governed, and applied in service of the common good.
ASEFInnoLab7 complements ongoing international efforts by diving deep into how universities can catalyse AI in pursuit of broader societal goals. Carrying the theme “The Role of Universities in Advancing AI for Good”, it will focus on areas where universities can take the lead towards inclusive, ethical, and socially beneficial outcomes:
Who’s joining?
We welcome higher education professionals, experts, academics, and researchers who hold both citizenship and residency in ASEM Partner Countries working with AI-related teaching, learning, research, management initiatives.
Consistent with ASEFInnoLab’s overarching design as primarily a platform for multicultural collaborative work and dialogue, no technical or coding skills were required.
#ASEFINNOLAB7 AT-A-GLANCE
WHITE PAPER LAB: WHEN & WHERE?
Call for Interest
March to April
ASEFInnoLab7 Coordinators’ Meeting
21-26 April | Fudan University, China
White Paper Lab Onboarding Sessions:
15, 22, and 29 May (3 sessions)
ASEFInnoLab7 Conference
24-29 August | University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
TRAILBLAZERS WEBINAR SERIES: WHEN & WHERE?
Call for Topics
March to April
Webinar Series
6 May to 24 June (8 sessions)
WHO?
Higher education professionals, experts, academics, and researchers working with AI-related teaching, learning, research, management initiatives.
HOW?
The White Paper Lab is by invitation only. Here we will bring a total of 60 experts who will work in teams, each led by expert coordinators. They will produce a set of white papers on the theme, which will be presented at the ASEFInnoLab7 Conference.
The Trailblazer Webinar Series, on the other hand, is open to the public. It will showcase good practices, institutional policies, and use cases of universities steering AI for the common good. Through the Call for Topics, we will onboard speakers from the ASEFInnoLab community to showcase their institution’s work and encourage action.
HOW ABOUT FEES?
This programme is free of charge.
Programme Components
ASEFInnoLab7 aims to strengthen cross-regional networks and dialogue on the role of universities in AI innovation ecosystems by building institutional capacity, promoting ethical and inclusive AI practices, and generating actionable outputs to inform strategic policy and leadership in higher education. This edition, we will deliver a full programme with virtual and in-person elements in various formats throughout the year.
This component will convene invited academics, researchers, and experts through a Call for Interest to develop forward-looking white papers through a collaborative process. Anchored in ASEFInnoLab7’s thematic areas, the programme positions universities as active policy actors shaping diverse the dimensions of AI.
Who will be developing the white papers?
We will bring together about 60 higher education experts, professionals, academics, and researchers from Asia and Europe who:
- Spearheads/works with AI-related teaching, learning, research, management initiatives
- Holds citizenship and residency in eligible ASEF partner countries
- Has excellent command of English (written and verbal)
What topics and audience will the white papers address?
White papers produced through this process will articulate strategic pathways through which higher education institutions can align AI development and deployment with societal needs, ethical principles, and long-term public value. The white papers will address an issue within the three subthemes AI4GlobalGood, AI4PublicInterest, and AI4InstitutionalExcellence.
The target group of the papers will be two-fold: providing insights and advice to higher education leaders and education policymakers at the same time.
How does the process look like?
We will be onboarding a roster of 10 expert coordinators who will meet in April 2026 at the sidelines of the prestigious Shanghai Forum in China hosted by Fudan University to lay the groundwork for the drafting process. The coordinators will each build a team of 5 experts from our pool of responses from the Call for Interest and work on a white paper topic in the following months.
The teams will be invited to present their draft at the ASEFInnoLab7 Conference to be hosted by University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom in August 2026. As an experiential, collaborative programme, the conference will welcome around 60 participating experts and will have an array of interactive sessions that will facilitate peer-to-peer learning to aid the finalisation of the white papers.
The full lineup of white papers will be officially launched in November 2026, potentially onsite.
What’s this component about?
This public webinar series will open ASEFInnoLab7’s conversations to a wider audience by showcasing insights and practices from the ASEFInnoLab community of academics, researchers, and experts working at the intersection of AI and higher education.
What will the speakers be sharing?
Experts will be delivering interactive talks showcasing concrete use cases, institutional approaches, and emerging practices that demonstrate how universities are harnessing AI to safeguard and advance the common good.
What’s the format and timeline?
Each session, invited speakers will deliver a talk on their chosen topic. This will be combined with facilitated discussions, including live Q&A and breakout sessions. This format is intended not only to deepen understanding of key issues but also to enable participants to collectively distil lessons learned, reflect on transferability across contexts, and exchange perspectives across Asia and Europe.
Preparations for this secondary component will begin with a Call for Topics, and this is where we will choose the speakers and map out topics across the two-month period as shown below:
Interested in this journey?
Our previous edition generated a diverse practice-oriented and policy-relevant set of outputs that reflect universities’ evolving role in developing skills for an AI-powered future.
Through sustained collaboration across Asia and Europe, participants co-created academic papers, innovative micro-credential programme outlines, and collective statements articulating shared principles and policy directions for responsible, inclusive, ethical, and human-centred AI development. These outputs are not just standalone deliverables—they are living resources supporting universities, policymakers, and innovation ecosystems in translating ideas into action, strengthening capacity, and advancing AI for the common good.
Have a look at the highlights of last year’s conference series and check out our latest project report, so you can have a good idea of the journey that awaits you:
ASEFInnoLab6 Project Report
What’s Next?
The ASEFInnoLab7 White Paper Lab’s Call for Interest is closed.
We will proceed with the next phase of the process and release invitations to those who have been selected to take part.
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