Digital automation is transforming the world with unprecedented scope and speed, and its impact is compelling. This report highlights the impact of AI technology has on Asia Pacific’s workforce. It also outlines policy recommendations to leaders of higher education, government, and industry.

June 13–14, 2024 (at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong)

The two-day event was the second workshop of the APRU initiative “Generative AI in Education: Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Directions in Asia and the Pacific,” built on the foundation laid by the initial Sensemaking Workshop.

This workshop brought together 41 academics, educators, students and tech business representatives from 12 economies across the Asia-Pacific region to engage in a collaborative exploration of potential futures for higher education in a world increasingly shaped by AI. Using foresight methodologies, participants worked to:

1. Explore emerging AI trends and their potential impact on various facets of higher education;
2. Co-create a range of plausible models that illuminate the diverse ways in which universities might function in an AI-integrated world; and
3. Identify the key opportunities and challenges associated with each scenario, prompting strategic discussions about potential responses and adaptations.

This report captures the outputs of the Foresight Workshop, presenting four distinct university models for a generative AI world. These models offer valuable insights for university leaders, policymakers, and other stakeholders invested in shaping the future of higher education.

March 14–15, 2024 (Virtual, Asia Time Zones)

Phase II of the APRU initiative “Generative AI in Education: Opportunities, Challenges and Future Directions in Asia and the Pacific” kicked off with the Sensemaking Workshop lasted from March 14 to 15, 2024. The online workshop was attended by 37 university professors, administrators, teaching staff, postgraduate students and technology industry representatives.

The workshop aimed to:

1. Identify common patterns and trends across case studies (collected in the project Phase I in 2023) on the use of AI in universities that can inform effective strategies for adoption.
2. Recognize gaps and opportunities for additional AI applications in universities.

August 15-16, 2024 (Virtual, Asia Time Zones)

This was the third and final workshop of the Phase II of the APRU initiative “Generative AI in Education: Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Directions in Asia and the Pacific.” Following the Foresight Workshop in June 2024 in which potential future scenarios or models for universities in a world increasingly influenced by AI were developed, the project progressed to the Creative Sandbox held from August 15 to 16, 2024. The Creative Sandbox workshop brought together 32 academics from 13 economies across the Asia Pacific to conceptualize potential prototypes addressing AI application challenges and opportunities in higher education.

Prototyping is the process of turning ideas into tangible forms for testing based on identified risks. The goal of prototyping is to identify potential issues, gather feedback, explore different solutions, and iterate on the design to improve the final product.

This report presents the five prototyping concepts developed during the Creative Sandbox Workshop as well as policy implications or university policies that may need to be reviewed, revised, or developed to support the ethical and effective integration of AI across different areas of higher education.

Authors: Danny Y.T. Liu, Simon Bates

The Whitepaper is a main outcome of the project “Generative AI in Higher Education”, conducted by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) with the generous support of Microsoft. Following a survey of case studies demonstrating the current use of AI in APRU member universities, three workshops throughout 2024 – including an in-person workshop hosted by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in June 2024 – brought AI experts together to assess the case studies and develop scenarios and paradigms of what AI-enhanced universities might look like in 2035.

The Whitepaper presents both a framework for action and a call for transformative change in how we prepare students, educators, academics, and administrators for an AI-enabled future. Our work has identified five interdependent elements essential for successful generative AI integration, forming the ‘CRAFT’ framework – culture, rules, access, familiarity, and trust.

We propose two key priorities for immediate sector-wide action. First, the formation of collaborative clusters where universities move beyond competition to cooperation in key areas including joint development of generative AI applications and pedagogical approaches, shared frameworks for assessment redesign, coordinated advocacy for equitable access, combined faculty development initiatives, and unified governance frameworks that respect local contexts. Second, the elevation of students as partners through peer-to-peer support networks, student AI ambassador programs, co-design of learning experiences, direct input into assessment redesign, and collaborative resource development.