The 2025 Academic Conference of the Smart Education Research Branch of the Chinese Association of Higher Education was held at Fudan University in Shanghai on Dec 13. This event, co-hosted by the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), gathered over 600 participants, including leaders and representatives from numerous universities nationwide, experts and scholars in the field of higher education, and business executives.

Zhang Jun, secretary of the CPC BIT Committee, delivered a keynote speech titled "AI Activated Education in the Era of AI". He emphasized that artificial intelligence has become a core area of strategic competition among major nations.

Zhang stressed that in the AI era, education should shift from "passive adaptation" to "active revitalization", fostering a new paradigm of human-machine collaboration and mutual enhancement.

Zhang highlighted the need to cultivate key abilities in students, such as precision questioning, knowledge acquisition, critical thinking and innovation, collaborative leadership, and value shaping. He noted that students must develop critical thinking and innovative abilities, enhance leadership skills in interdisciplinary and diverse scenarios, and maintain ethical awareness and responsibility when applying AI to solve global problems.

Furthermore, Zhang shared BIT's innovative practices in smart political education, talent cultivation, and industry-education integration. He introduced the university's "value shaping, knowledge cultivation, and practical ability" model, offering new insights for universities exploring distinctive pathways for nurturing leading talents in the AI era.

The Smart Education Research Branch of the Chinese Association of Higher Education was initiated by BIT in collaboration with 66 domestic universities and related enterprises. It aims to build an open and collaborative smart education ecosystem. Led by Zhang Jun as chairman and with the secretariat based at BIT's School of Education, the branch adheres to the principles of "academic foundation and innovation-driven development", pooling wisdom from various sectors to advance the smart development of higher education in China.