News Story

KMi brings human-centred AI perspectives to International Digital Education Forum

Friday 28 Aug 2026

Prof John Domingue represented KMi at two connected events at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, contributing two keynote presentations and taking part in an international expert panel on the future of education in the age of artificial intelligence.

The Sino-UK Digital Education Innovation and Leadership Workshop, held on 4 August, was followed by the 2026 Sino-UK Digital Education Innovation Forum, which ran from 5 to 7 August under the theme Co-Shaping the Global Future of Digital Education: Promoting Global Connectivity through Boundless Education. The forum’s stated objective was to strengthen collaboration between the UK and China in education innovation, drawing together the UK’s research capabilities and China’s digital transformation ecosystem.

The events brought together researchers, policymakers, university leaders and digital education innovators from the UK, China and other countries. Discussions considered how AI and digital technologies are reshaping teaching and learning, institutional strategy, educational leadership, policy and international collaboration.

The programme included contributions from Sir John Vincent Cable, former UK Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, and Professor Dame Ijeoma Uchegbu, President of Wolfson College, alongside current and former university presidents, vice-chancellors and rectors from several countries.

(Image caption: Participants at the 2026 Sino-UK Digital Education Innovation Forum. Keynote speakers pictured include Sir John Vincent Cable, Professor Li Chen, Professor Maurits van Rooijen, Professor Amr Ezzat Salama and Professor John Domingue.)

A recurring theme was how universities can use AI to enhance learning and institutional capacity while protecting critical thinking, student agency, inclusion and academic integrity.

Looking ahead to AI-based lifelong education

At the leadership workshop, Prof Domingue delivered a keynote entitled The Near and Medium-Term Futures for AI-Based Lifelong Education. The presentation examined why recent developments in AI matter for students and universities, the rise of AI-mediated knowledge, and the idea of the cognitive university. It also considered how AI could shape education over the coming decade.

At the heart of the presentation was a strategic question: how can universities use AI to transform education while enhancing, rather than replacing, human critical thinking, student agency and institutional adaptability?

Three emerging AI affordances for teaching and learning

On 5 August, Prof Domingue delivered a second keynote, Three New AI Affordances for Teaching and Learning. The talk highlighted three ways in which AI could support education:

Predicting learner outcomes: using data and AI to help institutions understand learners’ needs and identify where additional support may be valuable.
Providing always-available digital assistance: offering learners personalised, on-demand guidance through AI digital assistants.
Supporting curriculum development: using AI as a partner in course design, content development and the continuing improvement of learning materials.

Together, these affordances illustrate how AI could form part of a wider educational ecosystem supporting learners, educators and institutions. Professor Domingue stressed that realising this potential will require responsible design, trusted approaches to data, and sustained attention to inclusion, agency and academic integrity.

A human-centred approach to educational transformation

Prof Domingue also joined an expert panel on the digital transformation and restructuring of education in the AI era. His contribution emphasised a human-centred approach in which AI enhances human learning and capabilities rather than displacing them.

(Image caption: Expert panel on digital transformation and the restructuring of education in the AI era.)

Across the workshop and forum, Prof Domingue’s contributions brought KMi perspectives on AI, digital learning and learner support into an international discussion about the future of education. The events also provided opportunities to exchange ideas with educational leaders and researchers and to explore future international connections.

As universities consider how best to respond to rapid advances in AI, international forums of this kind offer valuable spaces for sharing knowledge, developing partnerships and shaping approaches that keep human learning, inclusion and agency at their centre.