From November 10 to 13, 2025, the 30th International Council for Open and Distance Education World Conference 2025 was held in Wellington, New Zealand. Centered on the theme "Ako: Exchanging ideas for inclusive, scalable, and sustainable education," the conference brought together nearly 500 higher education leaders and scholars from more than 50 countries worldwide. BI Xiaohan, Deputy Director of the International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (hereinafter referred to as "UNESCO-ICHEI"), attended the conference and delivered remarks at the workshop titled "Transformation and innovation: Artificial intelligence in higher education."

30th International Council for Open and Distance Education World Conference 2025

The workshop was moderated by Paulina Pannen, Senior Expert at the Indonesia Cyber Education Institute (IIOE Indonesia National Centre). Other panelists included Myra C. Almodiel, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies, University of the Philippines Open University; Fatia Fatimah, Manager of Partnership and Certification at the Indonesia Cyber Education Institute, Universitas Terbuka; Dewi A. Sapuan, Director of the Centre for Open and Distance Learning Experiences and Associate Professor at the School of Business and Administration, Wawasan Open University, Malaysia; and WANG Shuaiguo, Director of the Tsinghua University Online Education Center and Secretary-General of the Global MOOC and Online Education Alliance.

The speakers held in-depth discussions on how generative AI is transforming education models and redefining the digital literacy of teachers and students. They noted that AI-enabled high-quality development in higher education is not merely a matter of technological applications; rather, it fundamentally depends on building a governance system encompassing policy frameworks, ethical guidelines, and empowerment mechanisms to achieve the deep integration of technology and education.

"Transformation and innovation: Artificial intelligence in higher education"workshop

In her remarks, BI Xiaohan emphasized that AI is profoundly reshaping all sectors, generating new skill demands while fundamentally transforming labor systems. She noted that empowering higher education professionals is central to cultivating future-ready talent. The International Institute of Online Education (IIOE) has been strengthening the digital and AI application capacities of higher education professionals through a comprehensive suite of courses -in her remarks, BI Xiaohan emphasized that AI is profoundly reshaping all sectors, generating new skill demands while fundamentally transforming labor systems. She noted that empowering higher education professionals is central to cultivating future-ready talent. The International Institute of Online Education (IIOE) has been strengthening the digital and AI application capacities of higher education professionals through a comprehensive suite of courses - covering "digital competencies for higher education teaching personnel", "generative AI application", "AI + disciplines", and "AI + industry" areas - combined with localized training initiatives. Meanwhile, UNESCO-ICHEI is actively advancing industry–education integration, providing strong support for exploring talent development models suited to the AI era.

BI Xiaohan, Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, delivered remarks