Intel promotes the digitalization of higher education through in-depth cultivation and innovation

Today, the digital transformation of the education sector is accelerating, and the integration of digital technology, resources, and education continues to deepen. Among them, the digital transformation of higher education is in full swing, which is changing the model and path of higher education development and directly affecting the cultivation and delivery of digital talents. This makes the digitalization of higher education an important topic of concern to scholars and teachers . In this context, the head of Intel's education project and Professor Wang Wei of the School of Data Science and Engineering at East China Normal University took the concept of digitalization of higher education as the starting point, gained insight into its current status and pain points, and discussed in depth how to participate more deeply in and promote the continuous development of digitalization of higher education through school-enterprise cooperation.

As a hot topic, the digital transformation of higher education has different concepts. Professor Wang Wei believes that the digital transformation of colleges and universities is not only reflected in all aspects of management, scientific research and teaching, but more importantly, how to improve teaching quality and cultivate future talents through digital means. Among them, the real challenge lies in how to make digital technology effective in teaching, help teachers teach better and students learn better. This requires support from psychology, educational practice and other aspects, and is inseparable from the empowerment of digital technology.

In recent years, digital technology has undergone tremendous changes. From ChatGPT to Google Gemini and to today's countless large language models, artificial intelligence has begun to enter people's field of vision. In such a rapid digital transformation process, how to cultivate digital talents to keep up with the times has become a pain point that needs to be solved urgently. In this regard, Professor Wang Wei maintains an open mind: "I think our way to deal with it is to make friends with computers. In practical terms, it is to promote computer education on a larger scale and improve digital literacy, so that students, no matter what major they study, can better adapt to society with their digital capabilities, and then use technology to fill all walks of life with innovative power."

In order to enable more students to "make friends with computers", Intel, as a world-leading technology company, has carried out in-depth cultivation through a series of training and competitions, software and hardware technical support and other multiple methods, providing a large number of opportunities and platforms for college students to access cutting-edge technologies and demonstrate their innovative capabilities. As early as the beginning of the 21st century, Intel launched a number of competitions, including the "Intel Cup College Student Electronic Design Competition Embedded System Special Invitational Competition" and the "Intel Cup National College Student Software Innovation Competition", insisting on promoting education through competitions and helping the technology industry to cultivate more new forces. In addition, Intel has supported the "China-US Youth Maker Competition" for many years, building a platform for students to conduct in-depth exchanges in the field of innovation. This year, the competition attracted more than 11,000 young people from China and the United States to submit more than 2,000 works. The contestants include students from Chinese and foreign universities such as Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, and Harvard University.

At the same time, Intel is well aware that the digital transformation of higher education is not a one-day job, and that school-enterprise cooperation needs to be considered as a "must-have" and that cooperative practices should be extended to aspects such as university teaching and teacher development. For example, Intel's technical experts are introduced into the classroom to help university teachers and students understand the latest industry trends and integrate these cutting-edge technologies into teaching content; a larger-scale industry and academic exchange platform is also built through projects such as the "Intel China Academic Talent Program" and the "Intel Artificial Intelligence Academic Forum", while accelerating the discovery and training of young scholars and teachers in disciplines related to digital transformation. This model of deep cooperation enables universities to not only keep up with the rapid development of digital technology, but also ensure that teaching content is closely connected with industry needs, helping universities to deliver more innovative digital talents to society that meet the needs of future society.

In the process of promoting the digital transformation of higher education, Intel is giving full play to its technological advantages and industry experience to provide all-round assistance from different levels. Looking to the future, Intel hopes to further deepen the cooperation between universities and enterprises, make new attempts and innovations, not only to carry out digitalization within universities, but also to bring good technology and talents to more regions, thereby driving more universities and enterprises to promote the digital transformation of higher education, accelerate the realization of comprehensive digitalization of education, and contribute to the education process in the global digital era.