To fully implement the overall arrangements of the university’s “3510” Strategic Initiative, deliver tangible outcomes of the “Pioneer Program” and the “Undergraduate Foundation Enhancement Initiative”, seize opportunities brought by educational transformation in the digital intelligence era, and deepen the reform of AI-enabled teaching and learning, the School is advancing innovative reforms in artificial intelligence general education in response to the requirement set forth in the  Action Plan for “Artificial Intelligence + Education”  issued by the Ministry of Education in April 2026. The document calls for promoting artificial intelligence as a public foundational course in universities and delivering AI general education to all students. The School aims to consolidate the teaching foundation of interdisciplinary general education courses and support the university’s development into a multidisciplinary, distinctive and high-level research university. Recently, the School of Artificial Intelligence convened a special meeting on the development of artificial intelligence general education courses in Meeting Room 209, Building 8, West Binhai Campus. School leaders, heads of departments, course teaching teams, faculty representatives and student representatives attended the meeting.

At the meeting, Shi Yancui, Vice Dean of the School, gave an overview of the background, objectives and master plan for the AI general education courses. She pointed out that these courses are open to students across all majors of the university. Focused on popularizing fundamental AI concepts, scientific thinking and applied literacy, the courses balance knowledge transmission, practical training and universal accessibility. They are designed to break disciplinary barriers, improve all students’ digital and intelligent literacy, and support the cultivation of interdisciplinary talents. She encouraged all faculty to pool ideas and develop high-quality general education teaching resources.

Participating faculty engaged in thorough discussions on key topics including course positioning, syllabus refinement, module design of teaching content, case selection, practical session arrangement, integration of curriculum-based ideological and political education, assessment methods, and development of supporting teaching resources. Considering the broad audience and diverse academic backgrounds of students taking general education courses, teachers offered suggestions based on their teaching experience on the grading of knowledge difficulty, innovation of classroom approaches, and implementation of online-offline blended teaching. The discussion was lively. All participants agreed that the courses should align with the university’s institutional characteristics. They should explain basic AI principles while linking content to real-world industrial applications, avoiding over-specialization to ensure accessibility and practical value.

Zhang Xiankun, Deputy Party Secretary and Dean of the School, delivered concluding remarks. He stated that the AI general education courses serve as a key measure for the School to implement the  Action Plan for “Artificial Intelligence + Education”  and contribute to the university’s general education system. The School will continue to coordinate faculty resources, consolidate teamwork among teaching staff, and steadily develop teaching resources such as revised syllabi, course materials and practical cases. It will refine general education courses tailored to the university’s student profile, continuously improve teaching quality, and support the university’s overall talent development through curriculum development.

Moving forward, taking this special meeting as a new starting point, the School of Artificial Intelligence will keep aligned with the goals of the university’s “3510” Strategic Initiative, follow through on all curriculum development tasks, iteratively optimize course content, actively explore diverse and innovative AI-enabled teaching models, and further advance AI general education. The School will comprehensively enhance all students’ digital and intelligent literacy and contribute to the high-quality connotative development of the university’s general education system.