Exploring AI and the Future of Education — 2025 World University Presidents Forum Held in Hangzhou

On November 8, the 2025 World University Presidents Forum (WUPF) convened at the Hangzhou International Expo Center under the theme "Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Higher Education".

Co-hosted by China Association of Higher Education (CAHE) and Zhejiang University (ZJU), the event brought together nearly 170 distinguished guests from more than 40 countries and regions across five continents, including leaders from The University of Sydney, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and international organizations like UNESCO, WFUNA and World Bank. Among the participants there are over 70 presidents of leading international universities, more than 20 heads of major international organizations, nearly 20 academicians, over 200 Chinese university leaders, and nearly a thousand participants in total.

Ren Youqun, Member of the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Education (MoE) of the People's Republic of China, Vice Minister of Education; Lin Huiqing, President of CAHE; Ye Zhengbo, Vice Chairman of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; Ren Shaobo, Chairman of the Zhejiang University Council and Vice President of CAHE; and Shahbaz Khan, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia, attended the opening ceremony of the forum and delivered speeches. The opening ceremony was presided over by Guan Peijun, Vice President of CAHE.

Global Voices on AI and Higher Education

In his remarks, Ren Youqun noted that AI is driving fundamental changes in teaching practices, classroom environments, student learning, research paradigms, and university governance, calling on us to pay greater attention to risk prevention, open data access, and the cultivation of value-based rationality as AI technology advances. He emphasized that university presidents must proactively shoulder their responsibilities and actively respond to the new challenges of the AI era, translating vision into action and serving as guardians of education's fundamental mission, architects of intelligent governance systems, cultivators of intelligent education ecosystems, and champions of collaborative innovation communities in intelligent education.

Ye Zhengbo shared that Zhejiang is accelerating the convergence of key resources to build a highland for technological innovation, pooling resources to establish a highland for industrial development, and consolidating strengths to cultivate a highland for industry-education integration, comprehensively exploring an AI industrial ecosystem where technology, industry, and education are deeply integrated.

Lin Huiqing expressed CAHE's commitment to working with universities and international organizations worldwide to deepen international collaboration in AI-enabled education and beyond, forge broader consensus, and advance global partnerships. Looking to the future, she called on all participants to join hands in reshaping universities for the AI era, building new governance frameworks for AI-enabled education, creating new pathways to educational equity in the age of AI, and charting a new course for international collaboration and openness among higher education institutions.

Ren Shaobo highlighted ZJU's efforts to cultivate innovative talent for the AI era, advance interdisciplinary research, and explore new models of AI-empowered university governance. "Zhejiang University will take this forum as a new starting point to deepen cooperation with global partners and institutions, driving reform and innovation in higher education to contribute to a shared future for humankind and the well-being of all."

Shahbaz Khan stressed in his address that "Artificial Intelligence is not the future - it is our present reality. It is transforming every aspect of life, work, and learning. Yet, the real question before us is not what AI can do, but how it can serve humanity - how it can support equity, sustainability, and peace." He pointed out that university leaders bear a profound ethical responsibility to shape not only the students of today but the citizens of tomorrow, and called for collective efforts to ensure that universities remain beacons of wisdom, equity, and ethical progress in this era of unprecedented change.

During the keynote session, Ma Yanming shared his insights on the future of university education under the title "Transforming Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence". He noted that Zhejiang University has a long history and strong foundation in AI. "In recent years, our university has been working to integrate AI into education through our AI STEP Initiative. It aims to promote AI-empowered education across four stages - Start, Train, Explore, and Progress - to develop students not just as learners but as innovators."

Cooperation and Exhibition on the Future of Education

The Global University Collaborative Mechanism for Innovation in AI Education and Teaching was officially launched during the forum, bringing together 78 renowned universities from China and abroad as its founding members. The mechanism originated in June 2024, when Zhejiang University and 24 leading Chinese universities jointly initiated the Collaborative Mechanism for Innovation in AI Education and Teaching. Building on this foundation, the global mechanism will organize expert dialogues and jointly release a white paper on AI literacy, and promote the development and sharing of global open courses and "AI+X" micro-programs. Through these initiatives, it will advance the STEP (Start, Train, Explore, Progress) framework to further explore future challenges of AI for Education and AI in Education.

For the first time, WUPF hosted an exhibition on achievements in higher education from both China and abroad, focusing on four themes - "Future-Oriented Teachers", "Future-Oriented Classes", "Future-Oriented Schools", and "Future-Oriented Learning Centers" - showcasing exemplary cases of how AI is empowering education in universities around the world. Nearly 50 cooperation and partnership meetings between Chinese and international universities were also held concurrently.