AI is changing education. Universities must change too.

AI can personalize learning and accelerate academic research. But its biggest impact on higher education may be more fundamental: forcing universities to rethink how students are taught and what skills will matter in a world where answers are increasingly easy to find.

In Huawei Transform #26, educators and university leaders take a hard look at what comes next. From rethinking the traditional university model and teaching students to ask better questions, to building AI-ready campuses and preparing students to solve real-world problems, this edition explores how technology is reshaping education — and why the human side of learning matters more than ever.

Published regularly throughout the year, Transform looks at how digital technology is reshaping the present, while giving readers a glimpse of the future.

In this edition:

Tech won't fix universities until they fix themselves

Technology could enable the world's best universities to reach far more students. But Professor Soumitra Dutta argues that tech alone cannot transform higher education.

Universities first need to rethink their underlying model: the role of professors, the balance between teaching and research, and how institutions measure their impact. As AI makes knowledge easier to access and personalized learning easier to scale, he argues that universities should focus more on the things technology cannot easily replace — from mentoring and social development to creativity and human connection.

Read the full Transform interview here: https://bit.ly/4xivncw

Don't wait and see – build

What should students learn when technology and the jobs market are changing faster than traditional curricula?

For Dr. Le Mai Lan, the answer is to bring learning much closer to real-world problems. At VinUniversity, students combine AI skills with applied learning, research, and hands-on experience.

She explains why universities must develop not just skilled graduates, but thinkers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers — and why the best response to rapid technological change is not to wait and see, but to start building now.

Read the full Transform interview here: https://bit.ly/4zxKDUq

Building a smarter campus at M.U.S.T.

As teaching, research, and campus services become digital, universities need infrastructure capable of connecting them all.

Macau University of Science and Technology is integrating wired, wireless, and IoT networks while using AI-assisted network management to help its IT teams identify problems faster. Smart classrooms, centralized digital services, and new partnerships in areas such as AI and cloud computing are also helping the university build a more connected environment for students, faculty, and researchers.

Read the full Transform case study here: https://bit.ly/4wMZNCD

 AI makes answers cheap. Questions matter more.

For centuries, universities have been built on the transmission of knowledge. Generative AI is challenging that model.

Dr. Paul Kim argues that when students can obtain information and answers almost instantly, education must place greater value on judgment, creativity, collaboration, and the ability to ask questions that have never been asked before.

That also changes the role of teachers. Instead of primarily delivering information, he says, faculty will need to act as coaches and mentors who help students solve problems for which there no answer key exists.

Read the full Transform interview here: https://bit.ly/4wV8yea

HKU builds a Wi-Fi 7 campus network for the next generation of digital learning

Online exams, livestreamed lectures, hybrid classes, and data-intensive research are turning connectivity into core academic infrastructure.

The University of Hong Kong has deployed a Wi-Fi 7-based 10 Gbps campus network designed to support large numbers of simultaneous users while improving performance, security, and network management.

The upgrade shows how the infrastructure behind education is evolving alongside teaching itself — helping universities support more connected, flexible, and digitally intensive ways of learning.

Read the full Transform case study here: https://bit.ly/45PKlL6

The whole-person university

As AI becomes more capable, what should remain distinctly human about education?

Dr. Aigul Sarenova argues that universities need to educate the whole person, preparing students not simply for a profession, but for life. At Almaty Management University, that means combining AI, ICT, and entrepreneurship with critical thinking, creative writing, service learning, and personal development.

The goal is not to retreat from technology, but to balance technological skills with qualities that become more important as technology advances: judgment, creativity, purpose, and engagement with other people.

Read the full Transform interview here: https://bit.ly/4xoPqWI

From AI-powered learning to smarter campuses, from new skills to new models of education, Transform explores the technologies shaping business and society. Click here to browse the complete Transform archive.