by Xinhua writer Yang Shilong

BOSTON, the United States, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The 17th annual China Education Symposium, held over the weekend at Harvard, brought together educators, scholars, diplomats and students under a theme that felt less like a conference slogan than an existential prompt: "A Thousand Leaps of Change: Illuminating the Future of Education."

The symposium organized by students at Harvard's Graduate School of Education has a clear focus: Education must evolve in response to the challenges and opportunities presented by AI and technological advancement.

With six sub-forums on topics ranging from well-being to educational technology, the event highlighted a consensus among keynote speakers that the ultimate goal of education is to nurture fully realized human beings, and that AI is making this task even more urgent.

Prof. Huang Ronghuai, co-dean of the Smart Education Institute at Beijing Normal University and UNESCO chair on AI in education, argued that AI challenges the traditional education system. "The pace of learning is beginning to outstrip the pace of schooling," he warned.

Huang proposed a "pact" for an intelligent society, in which learners are self-directed, capable of judgment and growth, and prepared to navigate tensions among efficiency, independent thought, and intellectual engagement.

Yu Yougen, education counsellor at the Chinese Consulate in New York, cast education as both "engine" and "compass" in an AI-shaped world, outlining the scale of China's own system -- thousands of universities, tens of millions of students, and millions of teachers as "guardians" of quality and access.

David Perkins, a founding member of Harvard's Project Zero, criticized current curricula for prioritizing content memorization over deep understanding. In an era where AI can provide instant answers, education should focus on transferable thinking and problem-solving skills. His message was clear: The value of education lies in helping students engage meaningfully with the world.

Junlei Li, co-chair of the school's Human Development and Education Program, emphasized that technology should never replace human connection in learning. Reflecting on his own experiences in orphanages and rural villages, Li proposed a vision for "human human scholars" -- students who grow not only in skills but as empathetic, embodied individuals.

He raised a question that Chinese American philosopher and activist Grace Lee Boggs considered central for the next century: "What makes us better humans -- more human humans?" ■