'Global Dialogue about the Future': Key Topics of Expert Lectures at HSE St Petersburg International Partners' Week
The International Partners' Week at HSE University-St Petersburg united more than 100 representatives of leading universities from 23 countries. During the large forum, specialists of the campus, invited experts and international partners took part in panel discussions on artificial intelligence, the use of 'soft power', shaping a new generation of leaders and many other topics.
At the panel sessions, they discussed social entrepreneurship, collaborations between universities and the industry, the role of education in heritage preservation, necessary skills for leaders of the future and issues of using artificial intelligence.
How do people use AI and chatbots in the modern educational process? The participants learned the secrets from professor Abhay Bansal, dean of the School of Computer Science Engineering and Technology at Bennett University, and doctor Abhishek Sinha, dean of the School of Law at UPES University.
Abhishek Sinha
Dean of the School of Law at UPES University
Large companies have been applying AI for about 20 years, however, only in the past two to three years, it has become an instrument of universal use. As over that time, we have not yet formulated a common policy on artificial intelligence, it must become the main task for every university. If we start following the common policy at partner universities all around the world, it will be an important step in the right direction.
The Indian colleagues were supported by Alexey Nikitin, main expert of the Centre for Projects and Educational Programmes at HSE University-St Petersburg: 'AI is an important mechanism in building educational process. Obviously, we have to come up with a common policy on AI use but it shouldn't be too strict. My experience of using AI in the educational process at HSE University-St Petersburg includes creating large academic tasks, and business cases as well as scaling up and increasing the originality of test questions and helping to design presentations. I also have some experience in using artificial intelligence as an assistant in real-time. It's a chatbot for professors which can suggest an interesting fact on the topic in a matter of seconds. We're planning to use AI to help assess the assignments of the open form such as essays. Another goal for the near future is the personalisation of education: AI identifies the strengths and weaknesses of a student and provides the corresponding recommendations on topics and tasks'.
Answering the attendees' questions, the experts agreed that artificial intelligence had become a real tool and is widely used in all spheres of life. They believe that the main modern skill is the ability to channel AI to get the maximum benefit both in the educational process and business.
Representatives from France, Uzbekistan, and Armenia, and Elena Soboleva, deputy director of the Institute of Asian and African Studies, Maria Soloshcheva, academic supervisor of the bachelor's programme 'Asian and African Studies', and Maria Chizhevskaya, senior lecturer at the Department of International Relations and Political Processes in Asia and Africa, discussed the use of 'soft power' beyond West. The concept implies the ability to reach political results based on voluntary participation, affection and attraction. The guests of the International Partners' Week presented their countries by sharing their culture, special values and traditions as well as their work held to increase the recognition of their states.
During the expert session covering the training of modern leaders, Juan Antonio Carmona García, researcher of the centre CIIEMAD at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional in Mexico, and Tatiana Yurkevich, HR director at the company 'Lenta', discussed specialists' adaptation to the rapid progress and talked about the skills necessary for leading specialists of the future. 'Real leaders of the future must understand clearly that society and the professional sphere require a wider complex of skills. There is a topical concept named SHIVA (S—Split, H—Horrible, I—Inconceivable, V—Vicious, A—Arising). The terms, which the acronym consists of, highlight the importance of accepting the world in its diversity and dynamics and prove that leaders of the new generation must be flexible, adaptive and proactive. Along with that, we must remember that when we talk about business, we also talk about universities which work on the same tasks and pursue the same goal', underscored Tatiana Yurkevich.
Juan Antonio Carmona García
Researcher of the centre CIIEMAD at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional in Mexico
We have to change the psychology and the approach to developing leadership skills in some way. Good results and proper work are not enough already—our world is rapidly developing, and real leaders must not only keep up with the processes but also go at the same pace with the progress, and offer bold, up-to-date decisions in the spheres of business, public administration and education. The cooperation of universities all around the world is very useful in these terms, and I hope, it will be increasing.
The participants of the session 'Cultural Heritage and Tourism: Scientific and Educational Cooperation' discussed modern challenges of preservation, research and use of cultural heritage and also the development of new forms of educational and research cooperation between universities and cities with unique historical appearance. Moderators of the discussion were research fellows of the Laboratory for Management in Culture and Tourism at HSE University-St Petersburg—Alexandra Pakhomova and Ekaterina Baskakova.
According to professor Valery Gordin, head of the laboratory, the main peculiarity of modern projects is their interdisciplinary nature. Such an approach allows to carry out comprehensive research. 'This year, the International Partners' Week was extremely diverse exactly because of interdisciplinarity, intersection of interests and joint projects of representatives of various research and educational directions', emphasises the professor. 'For instance, we are presenting the project carried out together with designers. That's why one of the main distinguishing features of the forum is multidirectionality and an opportunity to intercross various research and educational interests. In the format of live communication, it is easier to establish a contact and find areas of common interests for joint research', highlighted Valery Gordin.
The session featured the presentation of the results of a unique joint project 'Integrated Platform Solutions for the Preservation and Promotion of Cultural Heritage (a case study of Samarkand and St Petersburg)'. The team under the supervision of Alena Suvorova, associate professor and senior research fellow (HSE University-St Petersburg), and Muhtor Nasirov (Samarkand State University) includes five tracks—from cultural studies and design to IT tools in preserving the heritage.
'The Partners' Week showed a high level of academic interaction and became an important platform for exchanging experience, brainstorming new ideas and expanding the horizons of international cooperation. Impressions are very bright—especially thanks to the enthusiasm and involvement of the volunteer group and students who made the atmosphere warm, dynamic and truly inspiring. Special attention was drawn to design exhibitions and intense networking sessions', shared Khurshida Karjavova, associate professor of the Department of Digital Economy at the Samarkand State University.
The idea of the project is to research and create integrated platforms which can help not only preserve but also 're-invent' the cultural heritage of the cities through the prism of modern digital solutions. As Alena Suvorova noted, the work is carried out at the crossroads of theory and practice: 'We analyse the best Russian and international practices of digitalisation of cultural heritage—from large projects like Google Arts & Culture and 'Europeana' to local digital products of museums and applications for tourists. It's important how such services can aim at various audiences and help not only locals but also guests of the city to immerse themselves deeper in its history. We are in the first stage now—we study the components of the so-called digital image of the city for a tourist who is looking for information about St Petersburg or Samarkand for the first time. We compare what percentage in this image is occupied by cultural heritage, and how it is presented on websites and social networks and in applications and aggregators'.
Among the questions, actively discussed during the session, were prospects of the use of new IT tools for work with heritage, experience of international colleagues, specifics of promoting intangible cultural heritage and challenges related to the funding of such initiatives.
International cooperation is a vital part of the HSE University-St Petersburg strategy. Partnerships with more than 30 leading global universities and organisations help to maintain consistent international dialogue and find new ways of development and solutions for educational issues. In the framework of the International Partners' Week, the panel sessions united the representatives of France, Mexico, China, India, Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries.