On September 12, the International Exchange on Empowering Digital Lifelong Education through Building an AI Literacy Ecosystem was successfully held at the International Conference Center of Shanghai Open University. The event was hosted by Shanghai Open University and organized by the Secretariat of the Global Network for Digital Lifelong Learning, the Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Open and Distance Education, and the Shanghai Smart City Development Research Institute. The conference centered on constructing an AI literacy education ecosystem and co-developing international resources, bringing together representatives from universities, enterprises, and industry associations to explore development pathways and innovative practices for digital lifelong education.
Building an AI Ecosystem, Advancing Lifelong Learning
Discussions at the conference revolved around key topics such as the development of AI literacy standards, curriculum design, integration of large language models, and corpus construction. The event served as a platform for promoting both the enhancement of national digital literacy and international collaboration.
Xiao Jun, Dean of the School of Science and Engineering at Shanghai Open University and Deputy Director of the Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Open and Distance Education, provided a comprehensive overview of the Secretariat’s key works for 2025 under the Global Network for Digital Lifelong Learning. He highlighted initiatives including the call for international AI literacy resources, papers, and case studies; the development of a multilingual platform; the organization of the “AI + Education” forum series; and the advancement of AI literacy standards and training programs. These efforts aim to promote the co-creation, sharing, and deep integration of artificial intelligence education resources.
Focusing on Application Implementation, Exploring Collaborative Innovation
During the thematic sharing session, guest speakers presented insights from three perspectives: AI standard design, the development and application of LLM-empowered courses, and educational corpus construction.
Shen Ying, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Software Industry Association, highlighted the association’s achievements in developing both national and group standards, particularly its pioneering role in AI integration fields such as vocational education and autonomous driving.
Chen Zongliang, Deputy General Manager of Shanghai Education and Research at Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group, introduced the multi-level AI talent training system and supporting resource mechanisms established through Alibaba Cloud’s “Yun Gong Kai Wu” program.
Cao Yanping, Corpus Operations Officer at Shanghai-based Kupas Technology Co., Ltd., shared the company’s practices in multi-domain corpus development, standardization efforts, and ecosystem collaboration, including the scale of its educational corpus system and progress in formulating related standards.
In the exchange and discussion session, participants engaged in in-depth dialogue on critical issues such as AI literacy standard development, LLM implementation, educational corpus construction and application, collaboration among industry, academia, and research institutions in building a new AI literacy ecosystem, and leveraging international AI literacy resources to advance lifelong learning. The discussions yielded broad consensus and provided clear direction for strengthening ecosystem development and project cooperation.
Representatives from multiple enterprises and institutions shared their initiatives in the field of AI education. Alibaba Cloud collaborates with universities to co-develop courses, provide resources, and support practical training, thereby deepening the integration of industry, academia, and research. China Telecom offers open cloud resources, certification training, and competition platforms to support the intelligent education ecosystem. Leveraging its platform advantages, Tencent Cloud facilitates educational cooperation and international talent development in countries of the Belt and Road Initiative. Kupasai promotes open-source data through its “Inclusive Corpus Program,” builds a corpus service portal, and enhances the corpus ecosystem. GDi focuses on virtual reality (VR) technology, providing self-developed engines and semi-open courses to advance the integration of the educational metaverse with AI. China Unicom Shanghai actively participates in K12 AI course development and opens resources to drive ecosystem growth.
The conference provided a key platform to discuss AI literacy education ecosystem construction and the future pathways of digital lifelong education, offering an important opportunity to promote the co-construction and sharing of AI literacy resources. Looking ahead, the Secretariat of the Global Network for Digital Lifelong Learning will continue to advance international collaboration, deepen the co-development and sharing of AI literacy education resources, strengthen efforts in building standardized AI literacy corpora, and promote the use of AI to empower digital lifelong education, contributing to a more open, inclusive, and sustainable lifelong learning environment.