Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

A FORUM on the application of AI technologies in education was opened in Shenzhen yesterday, attracting more than 300 scholars and entrepreneurs from universities, international organizations and tech companies.

The three-day forum, International Conference for Media in Education (ICoME), was jointly organized by Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) and the UNESCO International Center for Higher Education Innovation (UNESCO-ICHEI).

Over the three days, policymakers, education experts and other stakeholders are exploring and sharing the latest researches on AI and education through keynote speeches, parallel forums, workshops and field visits to local enterprises, and promoting the application and integration of AI in education and lifelong learning.

During the conference, Li Ming, director with ICHEI, signed a strategic partnership with iFLYTEK Co. Ltd. to share and apply information communication technologies (ICT), especially artificial intelligence technologies, in 12 universities in Asian and African countries to promote education quality and equality.

According to the agreement, ICHEI and iFLYTEK will team up on the application of voice-recognition software and voice-based Internet/mobile products developed by iFLYTEK in intelligent classroom teaching. The text and video content generated by the products will be shared among the partner universities.

In cultivating AI talents, the two sides will offer core courses and jointly build online education institutes that involve the participation of universities in Asian and African countries.

“The center has developed cooperation in 12 developing countries under the Digital Link Project. The products developed by iFLYTEK will render strong support for the Intelligent Classroom project,” Li said.

Wu Xiaoru, founder and executive president of iFLYTEK, said the application of AI will be helpful in improving learning efficiency and the application of AI in education will help improve education quality and optimize learning processes by reducing barriers to learning.

ICoME was initiated in 2002 by Korean Association for Educational Information and Media (KAEIM) and Japan Association for Educational Media Study (JAEMS). It was held in Beijing in 2012 and in Changchun in 2015.