Digital Assistant, Role of AI in Education Becomes Key Issue of ‘Foresight of Education’ Conference at FinU

On February 1, 2024, the plenary session of the International Scientific and Methodological Conference “Foresight of Education: Teacher’s Portrait of Future” was held at the FinU.

The discussion platform gathered more than 3 thousand participants – representatives of education, science and business.  The experts focus on the transformation of the teacher’s image, the necessary skills of young professionals, as well as the role of new technologies in the educational process.

The plenary conference session dedicated to the role of AI in education was opened by Stanislav Prokofiev, Rector of the FinU.  Welcoming the participants, he noted the relevance of the discussion topic and stressed that in a situation of constant change, it is important to study new technologies and tools and develop approaches to their regulation.

“It is no coincidence that the conference is dedicated specifically to the teacher’s image of the future: we need to understand what a modern teacher should be in the context of changes and challenges facing the higher education system, one of which is the AI development,” the Rector addressed the experts and participants of the panel discussion.

Speaking about the specifics of AI technologies’ use in the educational process, Stanislav Prokofiev stressed that AI is needed as an auxiliary tool for data analysis, and also emphasized the role of the teacher as an expert, “Artificial intelligence needs an expert – a person who evaluates what is generated, passes through himself, and teaches this to students. There is a lot of talk about the role of teachers today. In the Russian educational tradition, a teacher is a person, he not only transmits knowledge, but also forms the individuality of a student. At the same time, it is important for modern teachers to understand how artificial intelligence functions and work with up-to-date digital tools. Thus, FinU has already launched a special line of educational programs in AI, and during the year we plan to train all our university teachers,” Stanislav Prokofiev added.

Alexey Egorov, Rector of the Belarus State Economic University, also became the speaker of the plenary session. During his speech, he noted the importance of legal regulation of the use of new technologies.

Boris Chernyshov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, addressing the experts and participants of the meeting, noted that AI technology is a tool that can optimize the work of students and teachers.

The head of Rosobrnadzor, Anzor Muzaev, speaking at the plenary session, also drew attention to the fact that AI can help relieve teachers from excessive red tape, but it will never replace a teacher. In his opinion, in professions where lively human participation, understanding of human feelings, the ability to properly motivate and educate, nothing can replace a person.

Representatives of the largest employers in the financial industry took part in the discussion: Deputy Minister of Finance of Russia Ivan Chebeskov, during his speech, noted the importance of training highly qualified specialists capable of working with new digital tools, and spoke about the practice of introducing innovative technologies in the public finance. The head of Rosfinmonitoring, Yuri Chikhanchin, in turn, emphasized the role of teachers and developers of software products that allow solving complex tasks. Damir Battulin, Senior Vice President of Alfa-Bank JSC, focused on the importance of the formation and development of digital literacy. Business coach and psychotherapist Alexey Sitnikov became a special guest of the conference plenary session. Addressing the participants of the meeting, he noted that new technologies make life more comfortable and help to move on, but it is up to the person himself to determine the goals of the movement and lay the meanings in them.

Summing up the meeting, the experts focused on the significant characteristics of the teacher’s image of the future, noting the importance of a practice-oriented approach to education, professionalism and authority.

The plenary session of the scientific and methodological conference ended with a solemn award ceremony for the winners of the Pedagogical Olympus: Methodology, Technology, Practice competition, aimed at improving methodological work, analyzing and replicating best practices in teaching.

The conference program was continued by expert sessions dedicated to training personnel for higher education, improving educational programs and introducing innovative technologies, as well as effective communication with young people in the face of new challenges.

During the second day of the conference, more than 30 discussions were held on topical issues of the education system development. The conference is continued by the program of the Winter School of Pedagogical Excellence of the FinU.  Traditionally, the Winter School unites representatives of the educational professional community: methodologists, teachers, administrative staff involved in the educational organizations’ development.  The work of the site will last until the end of February 2024.