Seminar: Generative AI in Higher Education: Strategic Responses

Generative AI in Higher Education: Strategic Responses
 

Professor Simon Buckingham Shum

Director of the Connected Intelligence Centre,
University of Technology Sydney, AUS

                                                               
May 20, 2025 (Tuesday)
17:00 – 19:00

Room 223, Knowles Building, HKU (KB223)

Chair:              
Professor Nancy Law, Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Education, HKU

Discussants:   
Professor Pauline Chiu, Associate Vice-President (Teaching and Learning), Department of Chemistry, HKU

Dr Wai Lan Tsang, Deputy Director of Education and Development of Research Integrity, Graduate School, HKU
 

Abstract:
Generative artificial intelligence is scoring high on the university Richter scale, with aftershocks accompanying each upgrade. We’re witnessing the largest rollout of AI in educational history, powered by unprecedented tech investment, extraordinary engineering advances and ubiquitous marketing, with pro/anti AI camps forming in education. In Australia, TEQSA (the standards agency) considers this not only the most profound disruption to H.E. due to the threat to academic integrity, but also a transformational opportunity to improve assessment practice and deepen student learning, with every institution now developing its assessment reform action plan. In this talk, I’ll share some reflections on the rollercoaster so far, describing how we are responding to these challenges at the University of Technology Sydney, through a systemic change approach that includes curriculum and assessment review, enterprise AI infrastructure to address ethical concerns, student partnership, and research-informed innovation. If we are to maintain the trust of students as we navigate this transitional period, it is imperative that we listen to the true diversity of student voices: I will share the latest findings from a national project that has surveyed >8000 students, plus in-depth focus groups with another 80.

About the speaker:

Simon Buckingham Shum is Professor of Learning Informatics at the University of Technology Sydney where he serves as inaugural director of the Connected Intelligence Centre (CIC). CIC is a transdisciplinary R&D centre inventing, evaluating and scaling personalised feedback to students through human-centred design of analytics and AI. Prior to UTS he was a founding member of the UK Open University’s Knowledge Media Institute. Simon has been contributing to the GenAI/HE conversation at institutional, national and international levels, guiding UTS GenAI ethics policy and practice, promoting student and staff engagement, and delivering numerous webinars and keynote addresses. https://Simon.BuckinghamShum.net

Organiser:          Faculty of Education

Co-organisers:   Teaching and Learning Innovation Centre (TALIC)
                            Education and Development Research Integrity Team