On November 15th, Phoenix School held the ninth lecture of the Phoenix Lecture Series, the title of which was "Challenges to Education in the AI Era - Strategies and Reflections." The guest speaker of this lecture was Professor Tang Lixing, a distinguished professor at the International College of Macau University of Science and Technology. The lecture attracted the active participation of undergraduate students, postgraduate students and international students from different colleges of Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai (hereafter BNU Zhuhai).

The lecture was presided over by Professor Chen Xi, Director of International Education Affairs of BNU Zhuhai and Dean of the Phoenix School. Professor Chen introduced the resume and academic achievements of Professor Tang Lixing to everyone. Professor Tang Lixing is a distinguished professor at the International College of Macau University of Science and Technology, a Clinical Professor of Foreign Language Education (Emeritus) at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University and also an important member of the founding team of New York University Shanghai. His research areas include pre-service and in-service teacher professional development, brain-based learning, humanistic teaching methods, as well as other innovative methods and technologies. He has lectured and held teacher development seminars around the world and has published many books and journal articles.

At the beginning of the lecture, Professor Tang led the students to examine a global technology map depicting the "popularity of research on the impact of the AI era on education." In this grand world panorama, China is one of the most active and cutting - edge frontiers in exploring the impact of artificial intelligence on the field of education. He then explained to the students, in a simple and profound way, the current status and trends of research on the impact of artificial intelligence on education, unveiling the mysterious nature of this field for the students.

Afterwards, Professor Tang shared with the students about higher-order thinking abilities, traits of the employees, EQ (emotional intelligence), AQ (inverse quotient), and other aspects. When talking about high - order thinking skills, Professor Tang compared the high-order thinking skills in 1956 with that in 2001. When it came to the characteristics of employees, Professor Tang disclosed to the students five criteria for measuring emotional quotient. And through the story of Xie Kang, the principal of Beijing Boya Mingyue School, who founded a school in the AI era, he shared with the students the importance of a healthy body and mind, a scientific mindset, life skills, etc. in life. When discussing AQ (adversity quotient), Professor Tang mentioned examples of the difficulties he encountered during his PhD studies, such as language and psychological challenges, to inspire the students that life doesn't always have to be smooth sailing, but one should not give up easily. Subsequently, Professor Tang showed interviews with Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, and Gary Ruvkun, the winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, as an inspiration to encourage the students that when facing difficulties and challenges, they should be fearless and have the courage to face and overcome all obstacles.

Later, Professor Tang disclosed the six essential factors for success in the 21st century: design, story, synthetic thinking, play, meaning, and empathy. Skillfully, he used Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5" to lead the students to directly experience the essence of synthetic thinking, where elements interweave, integrate, and co-exist harmoniously. Then, by recounting the heart-warming story of a young woman in Suzhou who held an umbrella for a disabled person, he exquisitely depicted the deep-seated care and understanding that comes with empathy.

At the end of the lecture, Professor Tang quoted the famous saying of Mr. Gu Mingyuan, a renowned educator at Beijing Normal University, to encourage the students: "Without love, there is no education; without interest, there is no learning. Teaching and educating take place in the details, and students' growth occurs in activities." These words not only profoundly reveal the essence of education but also point out the direction for everyone to move forward.

Professor Ma Lei from the College of Arts and Sciences also shared her insights. As teachers, we can leverage AI to assist students’ growth, cultivate their empathy, help them become better individuals, and strive to translate the teaching concepts expounded by Professor Tang into teaching practices. Professor Chen Xi delivered a concluding speech for the lecture. She pointed out that Professor Tang's lecture was a wonderful analysis and interpretation in the exploration process of integrating AI with education, and it was also the best advice for the students.

The Phoenix Lecture Series has successfully held nine sessions so far. The lecture hall regularly invites well-known domestic and foreign experts and scholars in the fields such as international education, traditional culture research, and interdisciplinary studies to give special lectures. These lectures help teachers and students of BNU Zhuhai to obtain cutting-edge information in the academic community, broaden their horizons, inspire innovative thinking, explore academic interests, strengthen academic foundations, optimize knowledge structures, and enhance comprehensive qualities.