‘Economic Growth Without the AI Factor Is No Longer Possible’
The International Summer Institute on AI in Education has opened in Shanghai. The event is organised by the HSE Institute of Education in partnership with East China Normal University (ECNU). More than 50 participants and key speakers from over ten countries across Asia, Europe, North and South America have gathered to discuss the use of AI technologies in education and beyond.
At the opening session of the Summer Institute, Prof. Meng Yu and Xu Fei, Vice Dean of the School of Computer Science and Technology at ECNU, emphasised that the rapid development of AI technologies demands international cooperation and interdisciplinary research. ‘We are delighted to join forces with the HSE Institute of Education and are confident that this week in Shanghai will serve as a starting point for long-term joint projects,’ said Meng Yu and Xu Fei.
Evgeniy Terentev, Director of the Institute of Education, noted that research alliances between Russian and Chinese universities are gaining strategic importance and opening up new horizons for cooperation. He also presented the findings of one of the institute's latest studies—a typology of how Russian universities are responding to generative AI, ranging from prohibition to active adoption. The analysis showed that most universities remain in a grey area, without formalising rules on the use of new technologies.
In his keynote speech, Yaroslav Kuzminov, Academic Supervisor of HSE University, outlined five key areas in which AI is already transforming higher education. First is the need to change teaching practices and educational routines. Second is the evolving role of human cognitive skills. Third is the potential to overcome academic underachievement by establishing mechanisms for personalised feedback. In addition, there are new learning formats (including game-based ones). The fifth area concerns new mechanisms of labour market integration based on real skills rather than the ability to perform routine tasks.
He also highlighted potential avenues for using AI to empower and strengthen individuals. ‘Effective and competent integration of AI in education—guided by transparent rules, encouraging students to tackle more complex tasks with AI than without it, and supported by personalised recommendations—can reduce academic failure and unlock economic potential. This in turn fosters equal opportunities for developing a competitive workforce and ensures sustainable development. We must therefore move towards future literacy and AI literacy, recognising that economic development without AI is no longer feasible—but regression is quite possible if the technology is used carelessly or ineptly,’ Yaroslav Kuzminov concluded.
Ekaterina Kruchinskaia, Senior Lecturer at the HSE Department of Higher Mathematics, supported that idea and presented the results of a survey conducted among students from ten selective (top-tier) Russian universities. The survey revealed that students most commonly use generative models for summarising texts, data analysis, and programming. However, the time savings remain minimal due to the need to verify the outputs. Moreover, usage practices are still unstructured, and students tend to use AI mainly to free up more time for rest rather than to take advantage of generative models to tackle more complex and creative tasks.
‘The risks associated with generative AI will be significantly reduced once usage practices become more institutionalised, and students are motivated not to imitate, but to improve their actual performance,’ Ekaterina Kruchinskaia concluded.
Prof. Okan Bulut of the University of Alberta (Canada) also gave a lecture on challenges of applying artificial intelligence in education. He highlighted the main difficulties in assessing AI use and discussed how the technology could be harnessed to enhance learning. Continuing the topic, Assistant Professor Mick Fanguy from the Education University of Hong Kong spoke about the evolving understanding of computer-supported collaborative learning. He explained that, whereas in the past technology was seen merely as a tool for student-to-student interaction, today AI tools themselves are becoming full participants in the learning process. Using an example of group work with a text, Assistant Professor Fanguy highlighted new risks of free-riding—cases where students use AI primarily to save time rather than to deepen collaborative engagement—and proposed a research agenda focused on the behaviour of individual participants.
The first day concluded with an academic ‘speed-dating’ session, during which participants exchanged ideas about their projects and identified the challenges they would work on over the course of the week in Shanghai. Ahead lies a programme of lectures, masterclasses, and workshops on research methods. At the end of the Summer Institute, each participant will present their research project, incorporating feedback and recommendations received from experts at the HSE Institute of Education and ECNU.
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