From May 26 to 27, the international academic conference "Artificial Intelligence, Technology, and Education," jointly organized by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the Forum for World Education(FWE), was held successfully at HKUST. Centered on the theme "Better AI, Better Technology, Better Education, Better World," the summit brought together over 300 top global experts, scholars, government officials, and education administrators from the fields of education, technology, policy research, and educational institutions worldwide to discuss the opportunities, risks, and future pathways for leveraging AI to drive educational transformation.

Yuan Libin, President of Xiangtan Institute of Technology, was invited to attend the conference and delivered a keynote speech, sharing with the international education community the school's explorations in cultivating application-oriented innovative talents and advancing institutional innovation in the AI era—a presentation that received high recognition and praise from global attendees.

As AI has integrated into classrooms, learning processes, and industrial settings, how should education redefine its  own value? At the conference, prominent experts including Davis Cheng, Chairman of the  Forum for World Education;  Choi Yuk-lin, Secretary for Education Bureau,Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Edith Shih,  Council Vice Chair of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Guo Yike, Provost of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology ; Andreas Schleicher, Director of Education and Skills at the OECD; Katharine O'Strunk, Dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania; Randy E. Bennett, Member of the National Academy of Educational Sciences in the United States and Head of ETS Assessment Innovation; as well as scholars from renowned institutions such as Columbia University, National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, The University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing Normal University, and East China Normal University, delivered speeches. All participants agreed that AI serves as an "accelerator" and "amplifier" for education rather than a simple substitute, emphasizing that education must remain committed to its humanistic core by leveraging technology to enhance—rather than undermine human thinking, judgment, and creativity.

In this collision of world-leading educational ideas, President Yuan Libin,representing applied universities in mainland Chin, delivered a keynote speech titled "Cultivating Applied Innovative Talents and Institutional Innovation in the AI Era: Explorations from XIT." He provided a detailed analysis of the impact of artificial intelligence on modern industries and higher education, and introduced Xiangtan Institute of Technology's educational reform initiatives aimed at fostering innovative talents for the AI era.

President Yuan pointed out that artificial intelligence is profoundly changing social production methods, lifestyles, and talent development approaches. This will impact higher education in two key ways: first, AI will eliminate constraints on time, location, and learning methods, enabling students to study anytime, anywhere, rather than being confined to campuses, classrooms, or libraries; second, AI will drive industrial transformation, thereby imposing new demands for innovative talents. Universities must adhere to student-centered, adapt  training models, standards, and approaches to meet emerging industry needs; shift from  "whether to use AI" to "how to collaborate with AI," from being "centers of knowledge transmission" to "centers of capability development," and from "closed-campus education" to "open-ecosystem education."

He emphasized that cultivating innovative talent for future industrial development requires balancing both industrial and academic dimensions. He systematically introduced the CFAP model for innovative talent quality structure  developed by Xiangtan Institute of Technology in recent years. In the AI era, traditional knowledge-based professionals can no longer meet industry needs; society increasingly needs innovative talents who differ from conventional knowledge workers: these individuals should prioritize character development (Character) – upholding responsibility, integrity, self-discipline, and sound value judgments while establishing clear boundaries for AI technology's usability, reliability, and controllability; possess fundamental skills (Fundamental Skills), embracing lifelong learning and teamwork to continuously enhance business and digital literacy; adopt a practice-oriented approach (Action), effectively translating ideas into solutions and solutions into outcomes to drive innovation; and demonstrate professional expertise (Professional Abilities), addressing real-world challenges in frontline industries through specialized capabilities.

How to cultivate innovative talents? He introduced the novel university framework advocated by Chairman Li Shufu, which integrates the AI era with the "Three Campuses" initiative, emphasizing that relying solely on universities is no longer sufficient for nurturing innovative talent. It is essential to adopt a combination of Trans-boundary Campus, the Trans-regional Campus and the Trans-platform Campus to achieve collaborative education and ecosystem-based education. He shared Xiangtan Institute of Technology's innovative explorations to this integrated education model, including establishing classrooms within corporate production lines, having engineers teach classes while faculty members engage directly with enterprises—thus fostering industry-academia collaboration driven by real industrial problems; collaborating with domestic and international universities as well as industry platforms to share curricula, teaching resources, laboratories, and projects; and leveraging the Xinwei Education platform alongside AI assistants, personalized mentors, and data analytics to create intelligent learning environments.

How to motivate students and enhance learning efficiency? President  Yuan introduced the school's exploration of Project-Based Learning (PBL), which encompasses quality education projects, curriculum-based projects, major-specific integration projects, comprehensive practical projects, graduation design projects, along with corresponding innovations in educational and teaching management systems. Through "real problems, real practice",this approach helps students develop greater interest in learning, achieve results in real scenarios, and attain progressive growth.

The experts at the conference highly praised Xiangtan Institute of Technology's reform explorations. It was widely acknowledged that the "Explorations from XIT" addresses the challenges of cultivating innovative talents in the AI era  by reconstructing talent standards through CFAP, redefining learning spaces and models via the "Three Campuses," transforming learning processes with project-based teaching, and ensuring implementation through institutional innovation. The"Explorations from XIT" breaks down barriers between industrial transformation, talent transition, and educational reform, providing a replicable and promotable "Chinese model" for global application-oriented universities to respond to the AI era.