At a time when AI, big data, and generative AI technologies are profoundly reshaping education, lifelong learning has broken through traditional boundaries of time, space, and age, accelerating its transformation into an intelligent, all-scenario ecosystem. On July 4, the “Molding Shanghai” AI + Education Experts Exchange Meeting and the 2025 Work Kick-off Meeting of the Global Network for Digital Lifelong Learning were successfully held at the International Conference Center of Shanghai Open University. The event was guided by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, hosted by Shanghai Open University, and jointly 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. Its goal was to explore the deep integration of AI and lifelong education, bring together collective wisdom and resources, foster an open, inclusive, and sustainable lifelong learning ecosystem, and inject fresh momentum into the digital transformation of education.
AI Builds A Lifelong Learning Ecosystem and LLMs Reshape Education and Teaching
Zheng Yihui, Vice President of Shanghai Open University, remarked in his speech that building a lifelong learning society for all is both a national strategic priority and an educational mission. The Master Plan on Building China into a Leading Country in Education has also clearly set the goal of creating a ubiquitous and accessible lifelong education system. The Global Network for Digital Lifelong Learning, established at the 2024 Digital Transformation and Lifelong Learning International Conference, is committed to building an open and cooperative global platform to advance the integration of AI and lifelong learning. In 2025, the Network will pool global resources, deepen exchanges and cooperation, and drive the dissemination of new ideas and models. As the Network’s Secretariat, Shanghai Open University will serve as a bridge and connector, working closely with member organizations to explore inclusive and sustainable pathways for education’s digital transformation, and to build a smart, equitable, and universally accessible lifelong learning ecosystem.
Chen Zhao, Deputy Director of the AI Development Division of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, emphasized in his address that General Secretary Xi Jinping’s recent instructions during his visit to Shanghai have provided strong momentum for AI development. As one of Shanghai’s three forerunner industries, AI is deeply empowering education reform. The Implementation Plan for AI "Molding Shanghai" is driving the application of LLMs, and the education sector urgently needs to establish functional platforms and achieve technological breakthroughs. He noted that technology is already reshaping the education landscape and that lifelong learning is rapidly advancing toward full-scenario intelligence. This conference, with its focus on global perspectives and technological empowerment, aims to explore standardized pathways for technology-enabled lifelong learning, build an inclusive and shared global digital learning ecosystem, and engage in practical discussions on technological challenges and standard-setting. Chen concluded by stressing that Shanghai is determined to establish itself as a hub of comprehensive innovation. He called on all stakeholders to work together to achieve breakthroughs and to jointly shoulder the mission of “Molding Shanghai, Empowering the Future.”
During his online speech, Zhan Tao, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE), highlighted three key features of the Global Network for Digital Lifelong Learning: 1) Materiality and foresight in topic selection, with a strong focus on integrating AI and lifelong learning; 2) Substantive cooperation with UNESCO, with in-depth research in areas such as community learning and elderly education; 3) A balance of practice and research, aimed at exploring the dynamics of AI-empowered education. Zhan noted that UNESCO has identified AI as a core issue in education, emphasizing a people-centered and learner-centered approach that balances ethical guidance with academic exploration. He further proposed the concept of an “AI-being”—an intelligent presence that collaborates with human teachers to fulfill the educational mission. This, he argued, will drive fundamental changes in education’s underlying logic, foster new forms of personalized and lifelong learning, and reshape both learning environments and curriculum models.
International Cooperation and Technological Exploration: Dual Engines Driving the Future of AI-Empowered Lifelong Education
Yekaterina Pushkareva and Oleg Akimov, project experts from UNESCO IITE, shared via video the achievements and insights from their joint project with Shanghai Open University. The project focused on three areas—open education, teachers’ digital literacy, and digital inclusion for the elderly—and produced four research reports. Among them were a micro-certificate course framework for AI literacy and a compilation of digital learning cases for the elderly across 15 countries. These outcomes provide valuable guidance for educational digitalization and sustainable development for learners of all ages.
Zhou Taishan, head of government and enterprise business at Shanghai-based Kupasai Technology, discussed the logic behind corpus construction and model application. He explained that DeepSeek’s open-source approach is lowering the barriers to AI adoption. Focusing on four dimensions, he identified corpus development as a strategic priority, and introduced the “1125” design—aiming to build a high-quality corpus exceeding 2000 TB by the end of 2025. This will accelerate the development of scenario-based AI applications and synthetic corpora. In the context of lifelong education, high-quality corpus resources can support the creation of personalized knowledge graphs, enable precise educational delivery, and provide intelligent support for lifelong learning.
Embarking on a New Journey Together: Exploring Digital-Intelligent Pathways for Lifelong Education
At the conference, the Call for Papers and Case Studies for the 2025 Digital Transformation and Lifelong Learning International Conference was officially launched, alongside the detailed presentation of the 2025 annual work plan of the Global Network for Digital Lifelong Learning. Xiao Jun, Dean of the College of Science and Engineering at Shanghai Open University and Deputy Director of the Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Open and Distance Education, outlined five key priorities for the Network in 2025: 1) Building a multilingual website to strengthen collaboration among member institutions and experts, and to pool intellectual resources. 2) Launching calls for case studies and papers to identify and share best practices and works in AI-empowered lifelong learning. 3) Organizing a series of “AI + Education” activities, focusing on the integration of AI and lifelong learning, and enhancing collaboration and dialogue among Network members. 4) Hosting the international conferences with AI-focused themes, academic sub-forums, and closed-door meetings to advance global exchanges on the frontiers of AI in lifelong education. 5) Conducting AI capacity-building programs for teachers, sharing literacy and innovation resources, and supporting the international dissemination of courses. Xiao emphasized that as a platform for diverse collaboration, the Network must remain open and inclusive, promote AI literacy and resource sharing, and ensure that open education benefits both adult learners and older populations—helping more people thrive in the intelligent era.
Experts, scholars, and industry representatives contributed insights and suggestions on scenarios, technologies, standards, evaluation, ecosystem building, and the Network’s work plan. Guo Huinan, Associate Researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Educational Sciences (SAES) and Deputy Director of the Shanghai Learning Organization Construction Research Center, suggested that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, AI should be leveraged to achieve full-domain learner connectivity, build accurate learner profiles, foster the leap from knowledge to skills, and establish Shanghai’s digital lifelong education framework—breaking data silos and promoting educational equity through innovative digital-intelligent governance.
Xu Hexiang, Deputy Director of the Education Digital Transformation Promotion Department of the Shanghai Teacher Institute (Shanghai Educational Technology Center), noted that lifelong learning scenarios are diverse. In the AI era, citizens must master abilities such as risk identification; enterprises can leverage technological advantages, while institutions should advance content development in tandem with evaluation and standards building.
Wang Jing, Deputy Director of the Learning Mall at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), highlighted that the university is building an intelligent lifelong learning ecosystem on a digital foundation, offering distinctive AI courses, exploring online-offline integration models, and looking forward to collaborations with industry experts in areas such as standards and evaluation.
Lin Yuanyuan, Executive Director of the Technology and Innovation Center at the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, stressed that AI-empowered education can support individual growth and ease anxiety. She recommended linking lifelong education with career development, leading efforts in corpus governance, refining the “AI + Education” ecosystem, and ensuring timely website updates that balance learner and content profiling.
Shen Longrui, Deputy General Manager of Government and Enterprise Shanghai and General Manager of the Education and Research Industry, Alibaba Cloud; Hua Jing, Senior Expert of Shanghai Telecom Government and Enterprise Business Group; Wang Fuxiang, Huawei AI Computing Power Product Manager; Li Kai, Director of Higher Education Business Expansion in Shanghai for Tencent Cloud; Zhao Bo, Vice President of Codemao, and other corporate representatives, provided recommendations for the Network’s work from the perspective of enterprises. Their proposals covered areas such as providing computing power and LLM resources, developing diverse educational applications, building an open ecosystem, and offering course resources. All expressed a strong commitment to actively participating in the Network’s initiatives and jointly advancing the digital transformation of lifelong education.
The conference gathered wisdom from government, industry, academia, and research, with a focus on AI’s role in lifelong learning. It offered forward-looking ideas for the 15th Five-Year Plan and valuable recommendations for the Global Network for Digital Lifelong Learning. Looking ahead, the Network will continue to harness its platform strengths, remain committed to inclusiveness and sharing, deepen cross-domain collaboration, and accelerate the popularization of AI literacy among citizens. It aims to drive lifelong education’s digital transformation to greater depth, foster an inclusive and innovative lifelong learning ecosystem, and ensure that the dividends of technological progress benefit learners of all ages—writing a new chapter in educational equity and sustainable development.