From June 28 to June 30, Wang Ying, research professor of higher education at International Cultural Exchange School, Su Kui, head of International Students Office, and Chen Yu, deputy chief of Teaching Development Center at International Cultural Exchange School participated in the U21 Educational Innovation Symposium 2023 at McMaster University in Canada on behalf of Fudan University. The event brought together 28 leading research-intensive universities from 5 continents within the framework of Universitas 21 (U21) to foster academic collaborations and share best practices across borders.
The U21 Educational Innovation Symposium is an annual forum that focuses on student experience improvement, academic research, and educational innovation. This year’s theme was “Scoping the future in Higher Education: Transition or Transformation?”. The discussions centered around topics including curriculum design in the digital age, teaching assessment, future employability, and global partnerships.
Simon Buckingham Shum, professor at the University of Technology Sydney, delivered a keynote speech entitled “Learning, Analytics, AI, Trust - and the future of Universities”. He emphasized the importance of integrating science and reason with intuition and imagination in education. Shum’s team has developed a learning analytics platform using generative artificial intelligence, so that students are able to receive personalized feedback and learn more efficiently. Shum stressed the demands for responsible and ethical use of artificial intelligence to tackle the challenges and risks hindering educational innovation.
The symposium featured thematic workshops, where Fudan University delegates actively engaged themselves in topics around teaching environments and learning spaces, teaching and academic development, and learning analytics, sharing Fudan’s strategic thinking on educational innovation and its education reforms. During the “Look Ahead and Next Steps” session on the last day, they offered insights on academic integrity, faculty development, and learning environments and processes optimization in the digital age.
A unique aspect of this year’s symposium was the participation of students, allowing them to give their opinions on teaching assessment and curriculum design, which highlighted the “student-centered” approach to educational innovation.
The symposium’s participants agreed that the uncertainties in today’s world require higher education institutions to be adaptive and innovative. The rapid development of artificial intelligence presents both challenges and opportunities, so universities must prioritize human development, and responsibly use artificial intelligence to promote common welfare and empower faculty and students to face future uncertainties.
The Fudan University delegation also visited McMaster University’s Student Success Centre and Office of the International Affairs, exchanging insights on student services and internationalization efforts.
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Presented by Fudan University Media Center
Writer: Chen Shuyang
Editor: Li Yijie, Wang Mengqi
Designer: Jia Yingyue
