On October 28, the Business School organized the sixth activity of the Young Faculty Development Promotion Association. Titled AI Empowering Higher Education Teaching, the event aimed to help young faculty members explore pathways for integrating AI technologies into curriculum design and enhance pedagogical innovation. Professor Fan Zhongjun, Director of the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Dean of the E-commerce Development Research Institute, delivered a keynote report, while Professor Li Zhengming participated in the thematic mentoring session. The event was presided over by Liao Xin.
Drawing from his extensive teaching, research, and practical experience, Professor Fan emphasized that passion for teaching and dedication to students are fundamental qualities of educators. He stressed that regardless of technological advancements, the essence of education remains student-centered, and AI should serve only as an auxiliary tool. True integration of technology and teaching, he argued, requires unwavering enthusiasm for education.
Focusing on AI-Assisted Teaching Processes, Fan demonstrated AI's practical applications through case studies spanning syllabus design, courseware creation, and exam generation. Using his course Big Data Analysis Technology and Applications as an example, he showcased AI-generated teaching plans, PPT frameworks, standardized exams, and student evaluation templates using the tool Doubao. He highlighted how AI enhances efficiency and precision in pedagogical preparation. Additionally, he introduced cutting-edge AIGC technologies (e.g., text-to-image, text-to-video, digital human avatars, and voice cloning) through examples from courses like International Business and Intelligent Manufacturing.
Beyond technical insights, Fan emphasized the integration of AI with industry-academia collaboration, illustrating through five case studies how courses can deepen students' critical thinking and national pride. He specifically warned about the hallucination issue in large language models, which may produce inaccurate or illogical content, urging educators to verify AI outputs and maintain professional judgment.
Professor Li Zhengming summarized and conducted special tutoring. She noted that the seminar provided actionable methods for optimizing teaching. She encouraged young faculty to proactively adapt traditional teaching models with AI assistance while fostering students' critical thinking and innovation capabilities.
Attendees unanimously agreed that the seminar not only equipped them with systematic methods for AI-empowered teaching but also clarified the core principle of technology serving education. They also expressed their commitment to exploring the potential of AI to improve teaching quality and student development.
Translated by Wei Xin
Reviewed by Liu Weiwei
