From Execution to Orchestration: Cultivating Evaluative Agency and System Leadership
Focus: Redesigning higher education’s value proposition by shifting pedagogy from task execution to the cultivation of evaluative judgment, system orchestration, and the strategic fluidity needed to govern complex AI systems.
Description: As artificial intelligence rapidly automates the execution of routine cognitive tasks, the fundamental value proposition of a university education must evolve. This capstone panel of senior university leaders explores how higher education institutions can transition from training students to be the workforce to preparing them to oversee a digital workforce. The conversation will focus on redesigning our educational infrastructure to cultivate the new currency of human expertise: architectural vision and evaluative judgment. Panelists will discuss institutional strategies for developing the strategic fluidity students need to seamlessly switch between emerging AI models, steer complex systems, and orchestrate human-machine collaboration to navigate the profoundly noisy social outcomes that pure computation alone cannot resolve.
Demo:
Jiesen Huang, Class of 2026, DKU
Moderator:
- Yisu ZHOU, Interim Dean for Academic Strategy and Learning Innovation (ASLI), China Director for the Institute for Global Higher Education (IGHE), DKU
Panelists:
- Anindito Aditomo (Nino), Fulbright scholar, Humboldt scholar, and associate professor, University of Surabaya
- Shuangye CHEN, Associate Dean of Faculty of Education, East China Normal University
- Noah Pickus, Head of Global Strategy and Partnerships, Senior Advisor to the Provost, Duke University
- Hua SHEN, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, NYU Shanghai
- Tan Yap Peng, Provost, VinUniversity
Reclaiming the Struggle: Fostering Deep Learning When AI Can Do the Work
Focus: Championing intentionally AI-free, human-centered pedagogies that leverage physical presence and embodied experience to cultivate the tacit know-how that algorithms cannot replicate.
Description: For decades, higher education has excelled at transmitting “codified knowledge”—the explicit facts and textual arguments that AI has now seamlessly consumed. As generative models instantly complete traditional writing and analytical assignments, educators face the urgent strategic challenge of cultivating what AI cannot replicate: “embodied knowledge” and tacit human know-how. This panel of philosophers, anthropologists, and educators will explore the intentional design of human-centered, AI-free learning environments that prioritize physical presence and materiality. By moving beyond the screen and the text, the discussion will examine how to reclaim the essential, productive friction of the human learning process through sensory engagement, physical making, and full-body experience.
Moderator:
- Junyi LI, Lecturer of English language, DKU
Panelists:
- Pasoot Lasuka, Assistant Professor, School of Public Policy, Chiang Mai University
- James Miller, Professor of Humanities, Associate Dean for Interdisciplinary Initiatives, DKU
- Ben Van Overmeire, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, DKU
- David Pickus, Professor of History and Director of Global Studies, American University in Vietnam
- Yang SHEN, Assistant Professor in Anthropology, Department of Sociology, Zhejiang University
- Lei ZHENG, Doctor of Philosophy, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Education, Peking University
Beyond Opt-in and Opt-Out: Authentic Teaching and Learning
Focus: The pedagogical shift and the “third space”.
Description: As generative AI facilitates the unprecedented dissemination and simulation of knowledge, the traditional teaching-centered paradigm faces an urgent mandate for transformation. This panel examines the decisive shift toward learning-centered practices that prioritize authentic, experiential education over the mere transmission of information. Crucially, we reject binary framings of AI as either a villain to be banned or a savior to be fully embraced. Instead, this session explores a nuanced “third space”—a pedagogical approach that moves beyond simple “opt-in” or “opt-out” policies. Panelists will discuss how educators can design transformative learning experiences that either strategically integrate AI tools, or operate in deliberate complementarity with the holistic, human-centric skills that AI cannot—and may never—accomplish.
Moderator:
- Laura Davies, Senior Lecturer in English Language, Assistant Director for UG English for Academic Purposes (EAP), DKU
Panelists:
- Jiawen CAI, Senior Coordinator of Undergraduate Academic Activities, DKU
- Diane GENG, Assistant Provost for Academic Affairs, NYU Shanghai
- Liu HONG, Associate professor, School of social development and public policy, Fudan University
- Andy W. H. Khong, Deputy Associate Provost (Students); Director of Students (Innovation and Entrepreneurship); co-Director (Delta-NTU Corp Lab), Nanyang Technological University
Intan Azura Mokhtar, Assistant Provost (Community-Engaged Learning [CEL]), Singapore Institute of Technology
Nashan ZHAO, Class of 2028, DKU
The Crisis of Mastery: Rethinking Pedagogical Practices in the Era of Autonomous Agents
Focus: Navigating the “crisis of mastery” by redesigning pedagogy to train students as rigorous architects and auditors of AI-driven scientific processes, rather than mere executors.
Description: In the sciences, AI is rapidly moving beyond simple execution to agentic problem-solving, creating a profound structural friction in how we train future experts. While these tools make experienced professionals exponentially more productive, they actively destroy the training ground required to build that very expertise in the next generation. This panel brings together educators to explore this “Crisis of Mastery”. We will examine the core tension between the relentless incentive to automate routine scientific execution and the pedagogical necessity of “putting in the reps”. Ultimately, the discussion will focus on how universities must redesign their infrastructure to prepare students to oversee and evaluate a digital scientific workforce, rather than stubbornly training them to be the workforce themselves.
Moderator:
- Bikalpa Panthi, Class of 2027, DKU
Panelists:
- Shanyun HE, Associate Professor of Education, Zhejiang University
- Ming-Chun HUANG, Associate Professor of Data and Computational Science, DKU
- Aashique Iabal, Assistant Professor of History, KREA University
- Adison Juntrasook, Dean of the Faculty of Learning Sciences and Education, Thammasat University
- Emad Mohamed, Professor of Linguistics, Nazarbayev University
Reimagining the Educator—From Knowledge Transmitter to Learning Architect
Focus: When and how should learners & educators switch between modes of engagement with AI?
Description: As Generative AI automates the delivery of instant information, the educator’s role is rapidly shifting from content transmitter to “Learning Architect.” This panel explores this evolution at the intersection of learning science and cognitive fluidity—the emerging reality where learners and educators must constantly navigate between working with the aid of AI and engaging in completely unassisted, authentic thought. True fluency in this era requires deep metacognitive awareness: the ability of a student to assess a task, recognize their own cognitive needs, and intentionally choose the right mode of engagement. Featuring a mix of learning scientists and curriculum innovators, this session will offer practical strategies for designing educational environments and feedback loops that teach this essential navigation skill, empowering students to critically evaluate both algorithmic outputs and their own independent learning processes.
Moderator:
- Kristinn Már Ársælsson, Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science, DKU
Panelists:
- Joseph Davies, Senior Lecturer in English Language, Assistant Director for PG English for Academic Purposes (EAP), DKU
- Laura Davies, Senior Lecturer in English Language, Assistant Director for UG English for Academic Purposes (EAP), DKU
- Tati Durriyah, Associate Professor and the Head of the MA in Education program, Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia
- Jun MAO, Lecturer, Teaching Center for Writing and Communication, Tsinghua University
- Luyao ZHANG, Assistant Professor of Economics, DKU
- Tong ZHANG, Assistant Professor in English Language Instruction, DKU
Hybrid Human-AI Humanistic Research and Creative Practice
Focus: Exploring Human-AI hybridity through a performative “living lab” to understand how collaborative digital workflows and machine unpredictability are redefining authorship, assessment, and critical judgment in humanistic practice.
Description: Structured as an interactive “living lab,” this roundtable explores the frontier of Human-AI hybridity by featuring a Large Language Model as an active panelist alongside Duke and DKU faculty from the IGHE Presence Lab. Moving beyond instrumental tool usage, the session treats the digital interface as a site of collaborative methodology, positioning technology as a medium to scale human connection and creativity. Participants will examine how artistic and research workflows—such as co-creation, task management, and validation—serve as foundational digital literacy skills that challenge traditional notions of authorship and authenticity. By investigating the surprises, glitches, and unpredictability of machine reasoning, the panel will discuss how to reformulate assessment rubrics for hybrid originality and cultivate the evaluative judgment needed to preserve the human touch in the liberal arts and sciences.
Moderator:
- Vivian XU, Assistant Professor of Media and Art, DKU
Panelists:
- LLM (Chatbot)
- Benjamin Bacon, Associate Professor of Media and Arts, DKU
- Ziv Ze’ev Cohen, Assistant Professor of Digital Media, DKU
- Rui HU, Assistant Professor of Computation and Design, DKU
- Mark J.V. Olson, Associate Professor of the Practice of Visual & Media Studies, Duke University
- Victoria Szabo, Research Professor of Art, Art History, and Visual Studies, Duke University
AI and Authenticity: Community and Local knowledge
Focus: Community-Based Learning (CBL) and Civic Agency
Description: How does human connection function in an age of algorithmic mediation? Building on the concepts of authentic education, this panel explores Community-Based Learning (CBL)—encompassing service learning, community-engaged research, and experiential learning—as a vital anchor in the AI era. By convening voices from multiple vantage points, including academic researchers, frontline practitioners, community leaders (acting as essential co-educators), and student representatives, this session maps the terrain of local knowledge. Together, the panel will examine how direct community engagement serves as an indispensable site for cultivating the critical thinking, ethical reasoning, intercultural competence, and civic agency that define genuinely transformative education.
Moderator:
- Kaley Clements, Assistant Professor of Media and Art, DKU
Panelists:
- James Kah, Associate Professor, Vice-Dean (Outreach & Special Projects), National University of Singapore
- Nopparat Lamun, Program Manager, The Mekong School
- Hong LIU, Executive Director, PEER
- Malee Pattanaprasitporn, The Mekong School
- Rong XIANG, Research Director, Yunnan University
