IHERD successfully hosted its latest Distinguished Speaker Series seminar on 14 May 2026 (Thur), welcoming a full house of PolyU staff and students. The event featured Prof. ZHOU Aoying, Professor and Founding Dean of the School of Data Science and Engineering at East China Normal University, who delivered a compelling presentation titled "From Internet+ to AI+: Enlightenment from AI and Pathway for Education DX."
Prof. Zhou explored the profound societal shift toward a data-driven digital civilisation, positioning data as the fifth productive factor alongside traditional resources like labor and capital. He noted that the current wave of artificial intelligence represents a monumental victory for connectionism and data intelligence, transforming data from a mere byproduct of human activity into a core power source capable of driving comprehensive structural change across all economic and social sectors.
Addressing the long-standing "Jobs’ Question" regarding why information technology has historically failed to transform conventional classrooms, Prof. Zhou argued that higher education must break its reliance on borrowed, off-the-shelf commercial technology and instead develop proprietary educational tools. He showcased successful data-driven platforms from his own institution—such as Shuishan Online, Guilan Online, and Shuishan Chinese—to demonstrate how integrated digital frameworks can deliver personalised learning, concluding that while machine intelligence can effectively automate operational tasks, human educators must retain the ultimate agency to direct meaning and inspire students.
