A big thank you to the participants and partners who made this year’s AI and Education – From Access to Impact convening such a great opportunity for sharing, learning, and collaboration. After two days of discussions and demonstration sessions, we are excited about the work that lies ahead to realize AI's potential to transform higher education, emphasizing the need for equitable access.
We will be sharing more insights and recordings from the event over the following weeks, but wanted to post some initial impressions, building on the insights we heard from college presidents and provosts, technology innovators, non-profit intermediaries, and students from broad access institutions.
•Navigating Rapid Change: The pace of change and how to respond to it was a recurring theme and the challenge of adopting AI in under-resourced institutions highlighted the importance of a strategic approach to prevent widening gaps.
•Including Student Voices: At this year’s event, each panel had a student representative and it highlighted the importance and benefits of prioritizing student input. Only by listening to the students can we make sure that their needs are being met and the solutions we develop address the most urgent problems.
•Fostering Collaboration: The cost of AI is significant and even well-resourced institutions are having to make hard decisions about where to invest. Strong partnerships are essential for developing and implementing impactful AI solutions that serve all institutions and students.
•Thinking Outside the Box: There are many immediate challenges that universities face where AI could help improve efficiency or save costs. But we need to balance the focus on short-term incremental improvements with an openness to exploring more radical new approaches and innovative ideas about how AI could enhance post-secondary learning.
We appreciate our speakers, attendees, and organizing partners – Complete College America, Partnership for Education Advancement, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and MIT Schwarzman College of Computing. Your commitment is driving meaningful discussions and advancing inclusive and accessible education for all.
Stay tuned for a fuller reflection and key takeaways from the convening!
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