International Education Day 2025—Innovations Shaping the Future of Learning
Under the theme “AI and education: Preserving human agency in a world of automation”, this year's International Day of Education on 24 January 2025, inspires reflections on the power of education to equip individuals and communities to navigate, understand and influence technological advancement.
As computer and AI-driven systems become more sophisticated, the boundaries between human intention and machine-driven action often blur, raising critical questions about how to preserve, redefine, and, ideally, elevate human agency in an age of technological acceleration.
ECGI proudly highlights transformative educational innovations led by its network of academic institutional members. These pioneering initiatives are not only redefining how knowledge is imparted but are also equipping students and professionals to navigate the complex challenges of the future.
Harnessing Technology for Digital Transformation
Across the globe, institutions are leveraging technology to enhance education. Stanford University integrates artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality to transform classroom experiences, while Swedish House of Finance uses cutting-edge digital platforms including a National Research Data Center to advance financial research. Imperial College’s Edtech Lab and NUS’s Generative AI initiatives further illustrate the critical role of technology in creating adaptive, innovative, and ethical learning environments. At Columbia Law School, professors are at the forefront of a scholarly movement to use machine learning to understand the law.
The information gap between the public and private sectors has motivated a large research team from Stanford Law School’s Regulation, Evaluation, and Governance Lab (RegLab) to assess the feasibility of recent proposals for AI regulation. Faculty members at NYU in multiple fields—criminal justice, national security, intellectual property, and torts, to name a few—are pursuing work on AI-related matters, including scholarship, regulatory filings, and reports for government institutions.
Enhancing Experiential and Active Learning
Innovative teaching methods are transforming traditional educational approaches. In 2024, NUS students won prizes for debating the topic of tortious liability for injuries arising from statements made by an AI chatbot and criminal liability for alleged stock market manipulation by an AI chatbot.
The University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management provides an All Day TA, an innovative artificial intelligence teaching assistant that promises to transform higher education by providing students with 24/7 access to customised course support.
The Drexel Society of Artificial Intelligence is a Philadelphia based AI Research Organization a part of Drexel University helping students get involved in Artificial Intelligence through hands on projects and academic research.
Cornell University’s Active Learning Initiative fosters interactive and hands-on learning experiences. Trinity College Dublin supports experiential learning through its campus companies program, and Bayes Business School provides opportunities to explore innovation’s impact on business through real-world projects and initiatives like Bayes X.
Advancing Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration
Collaboration across disciplines is fueling new ideas and breakthroughs. Columbia University’s Center for Technology and School Change equips educators with tools to create inclusive classrooms. Emory leads the development of AI as an interdisciplinary approach between technologists, humanists, and social scientists. Georgetown University’s Education and Social Justice Fellowship examines innovative global educational models, while Bocconi University’s B4i Program turns interdisciplinary research into impactful start-ups.
Embedding Social and Ethical Values
Social responsibility is a key theme driving educational transformation. Emory University’s Social, Emotional, and Ethical (SEE) Learning curriculum fosters a holistic approach to education. Université Libre de Bruxelles’s FARI Institute advances ethical AI research, ensuring that technological innovation aligns with societal good. IESE Business School similarly champions ethics and responsibility in leadership education. Trinity College Dublin established a new AI Accountability Lab to foster transparency and accountability in the development and use of AI systems.
Driving Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Institutions like the National University of Singapore (NUS) are spearheading entrepreneurship through programs such as the NUS Overseas Colleges, BLOCK71, and the Graduate Research Innovation Programme (GRIP). Similarly, Trinity College Dublin’s Innovation and Enterprise Office supports groundbreaking research commercialization and campus start-ups, while Rotman School of Management’s Creative Destruction Lab empowers science-based entrepreneurial ventures. The National Centre for Creativity enabled by AI (CebAI) at Bayes Business School develops research-based AI technologies that increase workforce creativity which can contribute to improved productivity, competitiveness, and critical thinking.
A Commitment to Transformative Education
Professors at Cornell claim that “generative AI can be an effective coauthor when the student’s thinking is clear." and that "AI can make good writing better. It can make bad writing at least grammatically correct. But it cannot think for students.” With a university-wide committee, they developed guidelines and recommendations for the use of generative AI in education, released in the spring of 2023.
These initiatives reflect just some of the unwavering commitment of ECGI’s academic institutional members to foster innovation, collaboration, and societal impact. From entrepreneurship to digital transformation, from ethical considerations to interdisciplinary research, these programs are setting the stage for the future of education.
On this International Education Day, ECGI celebrates the dedication of its network to advancing education and invites stakeholders from all sectors to explore these groundbreaking initiatives.
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More initiatives from our members:
HKU Business School
The Artificial Intelligence Research Group is a research group in the Faculty of Business and Economics (HKU Business School) at the University of Hong Kong. The group focuses on a vast range of research topics including business intelligence and analytics, health informatics, fintech, and security informatics. It is particularly focused on text mining and natural language processing.
Monash Law School
The Digital Law Group based at the Faculty of Law at Monash University is a broad-ranging group focused on the creation and promotion of research relating to all aspects of legal technology and the laws associated with technology. The group is inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional, conducting cutting edge research across the wide ranging areas in which the DLG operates.
University of Cambridge
Professors at University of Cambridge suspect that a plausible generative AI-led shift from scarce academic knowledge production to abundant academic knowledge production will inevitably increase the urgency around answering fundamental questions.
SMU (Singapore Management University)
SmuAI is a student-led ThinkTank that facilitates the sharing of ideas in the field of Artificial Intelligence, supported by the Singapore Management University's Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SMU IIE). It created a competitive hackathons team to represent SMU's SCIS student body.
Berkeley Law
At Berkeley Law, a Silicon Valley neighbor long renowned for its top technology law programs, the faculty, students, research centers, and executive and Continuing Legal Education platforms are meeting the challenges head on. From different corners of the legal and policy world, they’re in position to understand and explain the latest AI offerings and highlight places where guardrails are needed — and where a hands-off approach would be smarter.
University of Auckland Business School
Researchers at the University of Auckland Business School sought to discover what makes an effective AI teaching assistant? And what are the potential pitfalls of integrating such technology into the classroom?
Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
Senior associate dean for teaching and learning at Tuck emphasized the intentionality behind integrating AI into their curriculum. “This academic year, we’re especially focused on bringing the latest in generative AI into the classroom, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We’ve added new courses and are integrating pedagogical methods that not only equip students with a deep understanding of AI’s role in business and society, but also offer them hands-on practical application of the technology.”
Florida Atlantic University (FAU)
The faculty at FAU are not just educators but also innovators, actively engaging in research that pushes the boundaries of what’s possible with AI technology. From developing algorithms that enhance machine learning to exploring the ethical implications of AI, the faculty at FAU are shaping the future of this dynamic field.
Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University
NTU offers new degree and scholar programmes in AI, with plans to invest $4m to boost AI education.
SSE Riga
SSE Riga students are being prepared to adapt to AI driven change.
Drexel University
The Drexel Society of Artificial Intelligence is a Philadelphia based AI Research Organization a part of Drexel University helping students get involved in Artificial Intelligence through hands on projects and academic research.
LSE
The study of AI is a key focus at the LSE Data Science Institute (DSI). Through research, teaching, and outreach, the DSI focuses attention on emerging AI technologies and their societal, economic, and political ramifications. This includes not only the applications of these technologies to expand social scientific knowledge, but also issues surrounding the responsible, safe, and ethical use of AI.
University of Virginia Darden School of Business
In 2024, the University of Virginia announced the establishment of the LaCross Institute for Ethical Artificial Intelligence in Business, accelerating UVA’s leading role in shaping AI’s impact on society and business.
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School professor says that generative artificial intelligence has the potential to transform the practice of law.
University of Oxford
Experts at Oxford are developing fundamental AI tools, using AI to tackle global challenges, and addressing the ethical issues of new technologies.
Waseda University
Waseda University was selected for a “Program for Broadening Opportunities for Outstanding young researchers and doctoral students in STrategic areas (BOOST) :Next-generation AI Talent Development Program” by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) in 2024.