Opening Keynote: Future of Higher Education in the Era of AI
To everyone gathered here today, my fellow educators, Good morning. It is a privilege to open this year's CanvasCon twenty twenty five and reflect on the future of education. This conference is not only about ideas, but about possibilities, how each of us can expand what happens inside the classroom and carry it into the wider world. We are living in a time where technology is reshaping the way we teach and learn. And with these changes comes an extraordinary opportunity to unlock new ways of learning that empower both educators and learners to thrive in a rapidly evolving world. Part of this shift is evident in how the set of basic skills expected of young people has expanded.
No longer limited to reading, writing, and arithmetic, but now embracing digital fluency, creativity, collaboration, and adaptability. Think about it, thirty years ago, when we prepared students for the workforce, it was enough to ensure they could read well, write clearly, and compute accurately. Those skills are still essential, but today they are just the beginning. Employers, companies, and even our learners are asking for something more. They are looking for graduates who can work across cultures, who can think critically about problems that don't have easy answers, who can adapt quickly when the tools they've mastered are replaced by new ones.
In ASEAN alone, studies show that by two thousand and thirty, more than half of existing jobs will require advanced digital skills, Yet many higher education systems are still designed around yesterday's workforce, not tomorrow's. This is where our challenge and our opportunity lie. As educators, we are not just preparing learners for jobs. We are preparing them for a future where the careers will evolve and reinvent themselves many times. In that journey, lifelong learning becomes more than a concept.
It is the mindset that allows our learners to grow and thrive. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Canvas conference twenty twenty five and here in Manila. This is the real me now. Sorry.
I am in another meeting multitasking, so I use my AI. Let me just Go out of CHED Commission meeting and go directly to our presentation. So, here you go. In twenty twenty three, as a senior secretarial director, I was already almost completing my term when ASEAN asked me, you cannot go. We need to invite you to be the education adviser.
And from that time on, since twenty twenty three to twenty twenty five, perhaps some parts still editing. So I did the Future of Education trend reports. There are three reports that I have prepared for the ASEAN secretariat as the adviser. And all throughout, I was doing a lot of consultation with different member states of ASEAN Ten, the time. And this year, we'll be having eleven.
So, I realized that many of our countries are already on artificial intelligence. Are you using AI? But what you just watched is a glimpse of how artificial intelligence is beginning to touch the aspects of life, not just as a teacher like me, but also to you, learners, lifelong learners, and everyone. I think no exception. Even the business, the industries, everything is on AI. So I was asked to present the future of education and I would zoom in to what I have done for ASEAN.
So, in the survey that we have done, and consultation meetings, we see that many of the countries are already utilizing fully online and elearning. We can also see massive open online courses, not just here in the Philippines, but also in other countries. Although, open universities have been there since nineteen nineties, even our own UPOU. And assistive technologies. Everybody can learn even those with disabilities.
They can be assisted in their learning. We can see that there is a growing need for us to work with other universities across the globe. Internationalization, transnational education, they're here to stay, partly closed during the pandemic. Right? But now they're back. But what's the biggest thing in the future of education is artificial intelligence.
And, you know, in twenty twenty three, I think that September twenty twenty three when there was generative AI, immediately for UNESCO, we had a meeting of ministers. First, in the headquarters in Paris, we have asked ministers to share their thoughts on the policies, programs, activities. And during that time, we're all thinking, we don't have policies on artificial intelligence or even generative AI. So that gave us a lot of time to work on the UNESCO guidance for AI for policymakers, the first book that was done. But at Cimeo, we did several workshops on AI since twenty eighteen before the pandemic.
And we see as well microlearning, microcredentials, shorter qualifications, you also have this even during the pandemic. Right? A lot of Coursera, Harvard edX, and all other micro credentials. Lifelong learning is here to stay. This is really necessary for us to live in the age and thereof AI. And you can also see that our own students are co creating our classes, they can contribute even to your slides, to your discussions.
They are increasingly becoming a contributor of learning. That's Uthagogy. And, of course, let's not forget the concept of green universities, green curriculum, green classroom. Everybody's going green. But today, we are in orange and black.
We are going Canvas. So let me just share with you the thoughts that I have on the role of AI, especially in this very transformative times for us, for educators. So before we deep dive into artificial intelligence, it's worth noting that there is a broader ecosystem of emerging technologies. And we're all thinking about our main mission. When member states of UNESCO said, we'll have the new SDG, Sustainable Development Goal number four is ensuring that there is accessible, equitable education and lifelong learning for all, and of good quality.
That's SDG four. So in the committee, high level steering committee of UNESCO and Education two thousand and thirty, we've been discussing a lot of how technology can really help in providing education for everyone, even including adult learners. So, among all technologies that is helpful is actually Artificial Intelligence. It stands out. When we were discussing in twenty twenty four, we're projecting six billion income for AI.
But now, I have taken a look at how much is AI worth. It's almost three hundred billion dollars, and it's increasing. Meaning, artificial intelligence has already been utilized not just in education, but in every aspect of our lives. That is why today, as educators, we also need to take a closer look on how we can utilize AI for SDG four. And I would like to zoom in that, well, there is also a caution.
Right? Not everything is said that this is really final. We need to take a look at how AI can really influence significantly The lifelong learning concept. Because education is not just about knowledge. What is education for you? It's also about opportunity. It's also about taking care of one another in this one planet.
So across the world, there are millions of learners facing barriers. They're not like us here in the conference room. Some are in remote locations. They don't have access to technology. Some have limited resources.
Some have disabilities, and of course, language differences. So when we were developing some micro credentials, we're thinking about those that will be deprived. Of course, we can use English in our courses, but what about the others? So we try to translate some of our micro credentials into different languages of ASEAN. And AS has the potential to break everything and to give us a new way. Imagine the different platforms that we have right now.
We don't have them when we were studying. Right? We were like studying in the eighties and studied in the '90s, We have our very old desktop and maybe Things are different now. You can do all your researches. In the last meeting last week on artificial intelligence in UNESCO headquarters, We were discussing about AI doing your thesis and dissertation in ten minutes. We had the digital learning week last week.
Ten minutes. It can already give you thesis dissertation. What is the implication of all of this? So that's why we need to caution how do we ensure that algorithms are fair and unbiased when you do your researches. How do we protect students' data while using AI to personalize learning? And how do we equip educators' intuitions to use AI ethically? These are so many concerns, huge potentials, but they're also greater challenges for us. So while I was walking down the hall, I saw all the different platforms that you can use to equip you in this new transformative AI era.
There's another issue right now that we're discussing. From the World Economic Forum, said jobs have changed. Everything can be replaced. No. Maybe they cannot be replaced.
The jobs cannot be replaced. But we need new sets of skills and new sets of competencies. So right now, more than half of the organizations are the ones also using AI. So it's not just education, even financing, even semicon, even advanced manufacturing, healthcare, everything can be assisted Or they can actually use AI. But what we need that we're discussing right now are the skills that are needed by those industries.
So how can we really shape our workforce. So my dear friends, my dear teachers, my dear lifelong learners, AI is no longer the future. It is actually here. From adaptive learning platforms to virtual laboratories, AI is actually entering our classrooms. And this is not just here, but around the world.
As a teacher, I have to admit I've been using some sort of AI because the other semester, like, I was asked to teach, and then I have thirty students. Well, course, in UP, I only have five. But in another state university, it's thirty for PhD. So I thought, how can I really check all of these reflection papers and concept notes? I tried to use AI. Okay? Then I use an application.
AI can give grading for my students, but they are lower than when I score it. It's really low. They will fail my class because they're specific on certain things. Of course, the grammar, the content. So I was saying that I still have to use my Human touch.
Right? And not rely at all on all AI. So, let me bring you to the promises of AI in education. Well, first of all, it supports teachers like us. And of course, managers, educational leaders by having some sort of automation. Right? Assessment is one tool.
And, of course, decision making in education. I was lucky to see the Arizona State University Decision Theater. So in Arizona State University, they have a room where there are a lot of data. And in that whole room of decision theater, you can actually infer or make some recommendations already based on those data generated by so many sources. So it can assist or help us as well supporting AI and digital literacy.
And we can also empower teachers. No? Sometimes we're so overloaded. But the current government, President Marcos and Secretary Sonny gave us a new loading system. Right? Deloading for faculty, only fifteen units. Unlike before, have eighteen, twenty four, or even thirty units.
So I should say that we will not be replaced by AI. Hopefully. It's twenty twenty five, but we can be empowered to use AI. It can help us work smarter, manage our time well, and even work not really harder. So it can automate routine tasks.
As I said, assessment can be assisted. Attendance check can be by AI and also teaching assist dance tutorials. Right? You can have tutors, AI tutors twenty fourseven. Unlike the human tutor who gives you per hour for tutoring. So therefore, teachers can focus on coaching, on mentoring, engaging students, and generating a lot of creative juices from our students.
So I would like to share with you that we will not be replaced, but we need to really Upgrade our competencies. There is one that we did some years ago where we have three centers of excellence and centers of development in the Philippines on the competencies of teachers for ICT. So, we have rolled this to some of the trainers who will equip their own teachers training of trainers on the ICT competency framework. And, you know, somewhere from twenty eighteen, before the pandemic, we were able to give a new look at the curriculum of teacher education by adding technology for teaching and learning. Are you familiar with that? So, in the course of time, are seeing that ICT is no longer a choice but it's really something that we need to have as teachers.
So, all pre service teachers they have to take technology for teaching and learning. But now, we need to maybe incorporate utilization of AI in teaching and learning. AI analyzes performance data. AI can really help us in assessment. We can also utilize AI to identify the learning gaps.
AI can tell you this part of lessons, they cannot get this. Their scores are very low. You can repeat this part. Right? So it's like a voice telling you from the data itself. And therefore, AI can also give you recommendations on how to address the learning gaps.
So there are a lot of adaptive learning platforms that you can just adjust. You are now the manager. You are the facilitator, and you're the user of AI. So, I'm very much happy to inform you that there are different ways by which we can really utilize AI, predicting learning trajectories, offering actionable feedback, identifying skills mastery, and supportive formative assessment. So sometimes when we were thinking about AI, No, we cannot use that.
But we're actually using it every day. It has been here for a very long time. But since the generative AI and chat GPT, Are you paying twenty dollars per month? User of ChatGPT. It can give you everything. No? Maybe secretaries.
They can prepare your letter and most of your papers. But I don't I don't use that. So AI platforms create individualized learning paths. It can analyze data provided to us, tailored fit to each student. So exciting, but then, of course, we must prepare students for the future.
In the Workforce Development Committee of EDCOM Two. We have some studies to support the human capital development for the Philippines. And we have noticed the changes of the job requirements. So before we can see different types of jobs available, But now the jobs, the calling are on AI, big data scientists. They are on different types of skills and jobs that are more influenced by digital technology.
So, we need to prepare our learners for these particular jobs and skills. So in short, I should say that AI can help us. And in our work plan, we would like to train more administrators and teachers on AI as our commitment to Philippine Workforce Development Plan. We submitted already the Commission Higher Education Investment on Human Capital Development for artificial intelligence with DOST isang team pukame, thinking about how AI can be really part of our investment for this particular reform agenda of the president. So AI can help learners grow by personalized learning tutorials.
And if there are learning environments that can be provided, more flexible, more inclusive, and, of course, forward looking. Next. Next site I hope you're really, really learning a lot from what AI can do. And this is some sort of Just an overview. So AI literacy is now essential.
I think it's really, really essential. And several countries are now working on their policies. There are only few. I think I have listened to around ten policies in the digital learning week. Of course, China is there.
And being a judge of the ICT award on education, our theme this year is actually on using AI in education. I am the jury. I know who won, but we will be awarding next month, so I cannot share with you. I would like to inform you being the jury of the ICT award of UNESCO. I have seen Cambodia, three submissions, Malaysia, four.
Indonesia, Thailand, two. No entries from the Philippines. We have hundred entries from all over the world, and we don't have entries on the use of AI in education from our country. I think we really need to have more AI literacy and more work on this. I'm sure you're doing a lot, but you're not just submitting.
Because I can sense have done a lot. Being at CHED, I know your proposals for funding. This is really good. But they don't go up to fight for the ICT Award. Countries such as Malaysia and Singapore integrated AI literacy even to the basic education level.
Now we're thinking which courses in higher education can have more AI. There is a growing demand for courses on AI And Coursera reported this since twenty twenty two. I have met with Coursera. I have met with IBM, LinkedIn, so that we can identify the AI courses that we will plan for this year, next year, and three more years to We're thinking about trading more and more teachers at CHED level funding and state universities and colleges who can help out. So Coursera said they have seven point million enrollment for AI courses.
And I asked them, how many AI courses do you have? It's really a lot of AI courses. So to our learners, they can focus on foundational skills, right, and conceptual skills, But having AI literacy is also something very important because this is actually happening right now when industries are requiring competencies on AI. So in our team for the national workforce, We have come up with our plans for our country. Chet, Tesla are working together on National AI upscaling road map. That's why I'm telling you, hopefully, you can join some of them to prepare our students and workforce for an AI empowered world.
This is our framework. The OST, DOLE, the ICT, TESDA, and CHED. We will be giving more training to enhance technical skills. The private sectors universities will also help out all government agencies and the general public. So in the National AI Workforce Development Plan, we have committed funding for this.
And we are thinking that we need one million AI general workforce for our country, Ten thousand AI developers, three thousand AI engineers, two thousand AI experts by twenty twenty eight. Commitment to strengthen the Philippine competitiveness in the global AI economy while addressing the workforce gaps. Because when I look at the enrollment, five million higher education students of the Philippines. Two point eight million are coming from private schools and then we have a lot from state universities and colleges, local universities and colleges. But only eight hundred thousand are on ICT.
And many are in business, law courses, teacher education. So we really lack supply of AI workforce. We need to change the direction and the trend. We need a lot of manpower to help us in this AI era. So Chad will focus on upscaling level three and level four AI Work crease.
Wait. It's not moving. This is our, what we call as our goal. Some will have AI level zero foundational enablers. Higher than that is AI for everyone, level one.
Confidence building basic AI. Level two, AI in the workplace. Level three, AI for jobs, and four, AI for innovation. So Chad will help in level three, AI for jobs and specialization by enhancing our curriculum certification, and of course, AI for innovation. We'll be developing more labs in our universities and colleges.
So, a lot of things to do. Right? Now I'd like to inform you that we have also prepared our agenda at the Commission Higher Education under the leadership of chair a group piece with seven objectives. So, us, we will have integration of AI in higher education system. We will do that. We will also develop models for AI awareness, governance, more of advocacy, implement more of AI upscaling, capacitate AGIs on AI in the curriculum for human capital development pedagogies as well.
We will also harmonize research innovation, and of course promote integrity, transparency, and ethical use of AI, and establish local and international partnerships on artificial intelligence. Maybe you're the first one to know I just submitted this last week. So you'll be the first to know. And all of our inputs are collated by the Department of Science and Technology. So we are really into artificial intelligence and digital transformation at the Commission on Higher Education.
And Another thing is about the new policy of check on micro credentials. Because the reality is that we cannot change the curriculum right away. It takes five years, seven years, and even Edcom said that Chad is too slow in changing the curriculum. If you cannot change the curriculum right away for higher education institutions, what we can do is to tap micro credentials. Now here in Microcredentials, CMO number one, series of twenty twenty five for this year.
Before doing the policy, we did scoping study on lifelong learning. We saw only fifteen percent of universities and colleges are having lifelong learning and micro credentials. Not a lot. So we're thinking that the way to really train our learners for the future is to let them use micro credentials and have it recognized and accredited by institutions. So if students will take micro credentials on AI, on Internet of Things, on data sciences, they can take those courses and ask for accreditation of such.
So, there is a policy on how much micro credentials can be recognized and accredited by higher education institutions. There are different models by which micro credentials can be accredited. We also have a lot of questions. Since we introduced a new thing, there are a lot of questions during the consultation meetings. But basically, we would like to have more of artificial intelligence micro credentials that are being offered for our learners.
So all of those questions, it's here. We gathered them in a practical guide for micro credentials. This is our framework that, you know, CHED will set standards on accreditation. CHED will recognize providers of micro credentials and higher educations can offer stackable or non stackable micro credentials. This is also the future.
Micro credentials, all countries are talking about it, and we should have one common definition of micro credentials. Industries, they are actually offering micro credentials. And many of universities that I know, they have partnered with industries offering micro credentials already. It's expensive to develop one. So they tap partners from industries and they have agreement on which micro credentials they need in their own institution.
So there are principles of micro credentials. I have reviewed all those who have applied for micro credentials. Not a lot. I think fifteen institutions have submitted to CHED Microcredentials proposal for permit. And I have seen that many of their micro credentials are what the industry needs.
So what we can do is really to tap this opportunity to work with industries. We want micro credentials which are industry based. And The principles when we evaluate micro credentials that are forwarded to us, can see that they should be learner centered. They should be outcomes based or skill based. They should We offering personalized learning, usually an LMS.
Right? Industry driven, accessible, inclusive. You can learn anytime, anywhere. Flexible, portable, and with assessment, pretest and posttest. So this is what we look at. And there is only, I think, one page application form.
So please take a look at CMO number one. Another thing. So micro credentials is not just happening in the Philippines. It's all over. We have compared micro credentials in New Zealand, in Singapore, also in Australia, and Indonesia.
So it's really, fortunate that we have all friends Connecting us to micro credentials. And when we talk about AI, we can also see that there are a lot of transformation. Every time I speak, it's six billion. Now, it's already three hundred million dollars for AI industry. Right? So there are a lot of new applications helping us, and things are moving fast.
So how can we really make a policy on AI right now when everything is changing so fast? I think it's hard to catch up. Right? I need to have a break on all AI. But luckily, we're able to do the workforce development commitment for AI. Let me just, give you another information on AI. Every year, Stanford puts out something called the AI Index.
And think of it as a giant report card for everybody The shows were AI is. And how far it has come. I always update myself on what's the new thing on AI. So first, AI has exploded in scale and in cost, as I told you. Back in twenty nineteen, it's just a large language model, but now AI is reshaping the job market.
The race is global. China now accounts for more than half of the industrial robot installations worldwide. When I did one webinar on artificial intelligence, I have speaker from New Zealand, robots and AI there in the classroom already. So there is a big jump for this investment of one point seven billion that I told you for research alone And thirteen percent jump in investment a year before. So it means that AI is no longer just a lab experiment.
But AI is not just also a password, but it is becoming an engine driving our economies, everything, changing the industries, changing our classrooms. And so in the team, we have been working first on the study of AI, ethics in AI, we had a big conference in Indonesia in twenty nineteen. We have worked with some team of experts on the recommendations on AI guidance for policymakers and harnessing AI in higher education, chat GPT and higher ed Generative AI in Education. And last week, we see as well two competency framework. Competency framework for teachers on AI, and competency framework on AI for students just recently launched by UNESCO headquarters.
So the principle of AI of UNESCO is that keep AI human centered. It should serve us, teachers, the people. There should be ethical governance in the use of AI. You should ensure transparency as well, guarantee equitable access of AI to everyone and protect our planet. Without global consensus on AI, it's a lot of debate from policymakers around the world, But there should be a consensus on the use of AI and AI ethics.
So I'm very optimistic that AI will help us as teachers. And it should really make our lives easier. Right? Hopefully, it should make our world better, And it will only happen if ethics is observed and sustainability is built into the main foundation. So I would say that, well, jobs will change, skills will evolve. Every World Economic Forum, I'm looking at the reports on the new skills and new jobs.
Technologies will advance, but learning must never stop. And learning must be for everyone. AI makes things possible and easier for us. Yes. And that is how we should prepare our students and our learners.
Not just for the future of work, but the future of life itself. Is really life. You breathe and you live with it. So, thank you everyone for coming here today. I wish everyone an engaging conference. I wish everyone an engaging conference.
No longer limited to reading, writing, and arithmetic, but now embracing digital fluency, creativity, collaboration, and adaptability. Think about it, thirty years ago, when we prepared students for the workforce, it was enough to ensure they could read well, write clearly, and compute accurately. Those skills are still essential, but today they are just the beginning. Employers, companies, and even our learners are asking for something more. They are looking for graduates who can work across cultures, who can think critically about problems that don't have easy answers, who can adapt quickly when the tools they've mastered are replaced by new ones.
In ASEAN alone, studies show that by two thousand and thirty, more than half of existing jobs will require advanced digital skills, Yet many higher education systems are still designed around yesterday's workforce, not tomorrow's. This is where our challenge and our opportunity lie. As educators, we are not just preparing learners for jobs. We are preparing them for a future where the careers will evolve and reinvent themselves many times. In that journey, lifelong learning becomes more than a concept.
It is the mindset that allows our learners to grow and thrive. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Canvas conference twenty twenty five and here in Manila. This is the real me now. Sorry.
I am in another meeting multitasking, so I use my AI. Let me just Go out of CHED Commission meeting and go directly to our presentation. So, here you go. In twenty twenty three, as a senior secretarial director, I was already almost completing my term when ASEAN asked me, you cannot go. We need to invite you to be the education adviser.
And from that time on, since twenty twenty three to twenty twenty five, perhaps some parts still editing. So I did the Future of Education trend reports. There are three reports that I have prepared for the ASEAN secretariat as the adviser. And all throughout, I was doing a lot of consultation with different member states of ASEAN Ten, the time. And this year, we'll be having eleven.
So, I realized that many of our countries are already on artificial intelligence. Are you using AI? But what you just watched is a glimpse of how artificial intelligence is beginning to touch the aspects of life, not just as a teacher like me, but also to you, learners, lifelong learners, and everyone. I think no exception. Even the business, the industries, everything is on AI. So I was asked to present the future of education and I would zoom in to what I have done for ASEAN.
So, in the survey that we have done, and consultation meetings, we see that many of the countries are already utilizing fully online and elearning. We can also see massive open online courses, not just here in the Philippines, but also in other countries. Although, open universities have been there since nineteen nineties, even our own UPOU. And assistive technologies. Everybody can learn even those with disabilities.
They can be assisted in their learning. We can see that there is a growing need for us to work with other universities across the globe. Internationalization, transnational education, they're here to stay, partly closed during the pandemic. Right? But now they're back. But what's the biggest thing in the future of education is artificial intelligence.
And, you know, in twenty twenty three, I think that September twenty twenty three when there was generative AI, immediately for UNESCO, we had a meeting of ministers. First, in the headquarters in Paris, we have asked ministers to share their thoughts on the policies, programs, activities. And during that time, we're all thinking, we don't have policies on artificial intelligence or even generative AI. So that gave us a lot of time to work on the UNESCO guidance for AI for policymakers, the first book that was done. But at Cimeo, we did several workshops on AI since twenty eighteen before the pandemic.
And we see as well microlearning, microcredentials, shorter qualifications, you also have this even during the pandemic. Right? A lot of Coursera, Harvard edX, and all other micro credentials. Lifelong learning is here to stay. This is really necessary for us to live in the age and thereof AI. And you can also see that our own students are co creating our classes, they can contribute even to your slides, to your discussions.
They are increasingly becoming a contributor of learning. That's Uthagogy. And, of course, let's not forget the concept of green universities, green curriculum, green classroom. Everybody's going green. But today, we are in orange and black.
We are going Canvas. So let me just share with you the thoughts that I have on the role of AI, especially in this very transformative times for us, for educators. So before we deep dive into artificial intelligence, it's worth noting that there is a broader ecosystem of emerging technologies. And we're all thinking about our main mission. When member states of UNESCO said, we'll have the new SDG, Sustainable Development Goal number four is ensuring that there is accessible, equitable education and lifelong learning for all, and of good quality.
That's SDG four. So in the committee, high level steering committee of UNESCO and Education two thousand and thirty, we've been discussing a lot of how technology can really help in providing education for everyone, even including adult learners. So, among all technologies that is helpful is actually Artificial Intelligence. It stands out. When we were discussing in twenty twenty four, we're projecting six billion income for AI.
But now, I have taken a look at how much is AI worth. It's almost three hundred billion dollars, and it's increasing. Meaning, artificial intelligence has already been utilized not just in education, but in every aspect of our lives. That is why today, as educators, we also need to take a closer look on how we can utilize AI for SDG four. And I would like to zoom in that, well, there is also a caution.
Right? Not everything is said that this is really final. We need to take a look at how AI can really influence significantly The lifelong learning concept. Because education is not just about knowledge. What is education for you? It's also about opportunity. It's also about taking care of one another in this one planet.
So across the world, there are millions of learners facing barriers. They're not like us here in the conference room. Some are in remote locations. They don't have access to technology. Some have limited resources.
Some have disabilities, and of course, language differences. So when we were developing some micro credentials, we're thinking about those that will be deprived. Of course, we can use English in our courses, but what about the others? So we try to translate some of our micro credentials into different languages of ASEAN. And AS has the potential to break everything and to give us a new way. Imagine the different platforms that we have right now.
We don't have them when we were studying. Right? We were like studying in the eighties and studied in the '90s, We have our very old desktop and maybe Things are different now. You can do all your researches. In the last meeting last week on artificial intelligence in UNESCO headquarters, We were discussing about AI doing your thesis and dissertation in ten minutes. We had the digital learning week last week.
Ten minutes. It can already give you thesis dissertation. What is the implication of all of this? So that's why we need to caution how do we ensure that algorithms are fair and unbiased when you do your researches. How do we protect students' data while using AI to personalize learning? And how do we equip educators' intuitions to use AI ethically? These are so many concerns, huge potentials, but they're also greater challenges for us. So while I was walking down the hall, I saw all the different platforms that you can use to equip you in this new transformative AI era.
There's another issue right now that we're discussing. From the World Economic Forum, said jobs have changed. Everything can be replaced. No. Maybe they cannot be replaced.
The jobs cannot be replaced. But we need new sets of skills and new sets of competencies. So right now, more than half of the organizations are the ones also using AI. So it's not just education, even financing, even semicon, even advanced manufacturing, healthcare, everything can be assisted Or they can actually use AI. But what we need that we're discussing right now are the skills that are needed by those industries.
So how can we really shape our workforce. So my dear friends, my dear teachers, my dear lifelong learners, AI is no longer the future. It is actually here. From adaptive learning platforms to virtual laboratories, AI is actually entering our classrooms. And this is not just here, but around the world.
As a teacher, I have to admit I've been using some sort of AI because the other semester, like, I was asked to teach, and then I have thirty students. Well, course, in UP, I only have five. But in another state university, it's thirty for PhD. So I thought, how can I really check all of these reflection papers and concept notes? I tried to use AI. Okay? Then I use an application.
AI can give grading for my students, but they are lower than when I score it. It's really low. They will fail my class because they're specific on certain things. Of course, the grammar, the content. So I was saying that I still have to use my Human touch.
Right? And not rely at all on all AI. So, let me bring you to the promises of AI in education. Well, first of all, it supports teachers like us. And of course, managers, educational leaders by having some sort of automation. Right? Assessment is one tool.
And, of course, decision making in education. I was lucky to see the Arizona State University Decision Theater. So in Arizona State University, they have a room where there are a lot of data. And in that whole room of decision theater, you can actually infer or make some recommendations already based on those data generated by so many sources. So it can assist or help us as well supporting AI and digital literacy.
And we can also empower teachers. No? Sometimes we're so overloaded. But the current government, President Marcos and Secretary Sonny gave us a new loading system. Right? Deloading for faculty, only fifteen units. Unlike before, have eighteen, twenty four, or even thirty units.
So I should say that we will not be replaced by AI. Hopefully. It's twenty twenty five, but we can be empowered to use AI. It can help us work smarter, manage our time well, and even work not really harder. So it can automate routine tasks.
As I said, assessment can be assisted. Attendance check can be by AI and also teaching assist dance tutorials. Right? You can have tutors, AI tutors twenty fourseven. Unlike the human tutor who gives you per hour for tutoring. So therefore, teachers can focus on coaching, on mentoring, engaging students, and generating a lot of creative juices from our students.
So I would like to share with you that we will not be replaced, but we need to really Upgrade our competencies. There is one that we did some years ago where we have three centers of excellence and centers of development in the Philippines on the competencies of teachers for ICT. So, we have rolled this to some of the trainers who will equip their own teachers training of trainers on the ICT competency framework. And, you know, somewhere from twenty eighteen, before the pandemic, we were able to give a new look at the curriculum of teacher education by adding technology for teaching and learning. Are you familiar with that? So, in the course of time, are seeing that ICT is no longer a choice but it's really something that we need to have as teachers.
So, all pre service teachers they have to take technology for teaching and learning. But now, we need to maybe incorporate utilization of AI in teaching and learning. AI analyzes performance data. AI can really help us in assessment. We can also utilize AI to identify the learning gaps.
AI can tell you this part of lessons, they cannot get this. Their scores are very low. You can repeat this part. Right? So it's like a voice telling you from the data itself. And therefore, AI can also give you recommendations on how to address the learning gaps.
So there are a lot of adaptive learning platforms that you can just adjust. You are now the manager. You are the facilitator, and you're the user of AI. So, I'm very much happy to inform you that there are different ways by which we can really utilize AI, predicting learning trajectories, offering actionable feedback, identifying skills mastery, and supportive formative assessment. So sometimes when we were thinking about AI, No, we cannot use that.
But we're actually using it every day. It has been here for a very long time. But since the generative AI and chat GPT, Are you paying twenty dollars per month? User of ChatGPT. It can give you everything. No? Maybe secretaries.
They can prepare your letter and most of your papers. But I don't I don't use that. So AI platforms create individualized learning paths. It can analyze data provided to us, tailored fit to each student. So exciting, but then, of course, we must prepare students for the future.
In the Workforce Development Committee of EDCOM Two. We have some studies to support the human capital development for the Philippines. And we have noticed the changes of the job requirements. So before we can see different types of jobs available, But now the jobs, the calling are on AI, big data scientists. They are on different types of skills and jobs that are more influenced by digital technology.
So, we need to prepare our learners for these particular jobs and skills. So in short, I should say that AI can help us. And in our work plan, we would like to train more administrators and teachers on AI as our commitment to Philippine Workforce Development Plan. We submitted already the Commission Higher Education Investment on Human Capital Development for artificial intelligence with DOST isang team pukame, thinking about how AI can be really part of our investment for this particular reform agenda of the president. So AI can help learners grow by personalized learning tutorials.
And if there are learning environments that can be provided, more flexible, more inclusive, and, of course, forward looking. Next. Next site I hope you're really, really learning a lot from what AI can do. And this is some sort of Just an overview. So AI literacy is now essential.
I think it's really, really essential. And several countries are now working on their policies. There are only few. I think I have listened to around ten policies in the digital learning week. Of course, China is there.
And being a judge of the ICT award on education, our theme this year is actually on using AI in education. I am the jury. I know who won, but we will be awarding next month, so I cannot share with you. I would like to inform you being the jury of the ICT award of UNESCO. I have seen Cambodia, three submissions, Malaysia, four.
Indonesia, Thailand, two. No entries from the Philippines. We have hundred entries from all over the world, and we don't have entries on the use of AI in education from our country. I think we really need to have more AI literacy and more work on this. I'm sure you're doing a lot, but you're not just submitting.
Because I can sense have done a lot. Being at CHED, I know your proposals for funding. This is really good. But they don't go up to fight for the ICT Award. Countries such as Malaysia and Singapore integrated AI literacy even to the basic education level.
Now we're thinking which courses in higher education can have more AI. There is a growing demand for courses on AI And Coursera reported this since twenty twenty two. I have met with Coursera. I have met with IBM, LinkedIn, so that we can identify the AI courses that we will plan for this year, next year, and three more years to We're thinking about trading more and more teachers at CHED level funding and state universities and colleges who can help out. So Coursera said they have seven point million enrollment for AI courses.
And I asked them, how many AI courses do you have? It's really a lot of AI courses. So to our learners, they can focus on foundational skills, right, and conceptual skills, But having AI literacy is also something very important because this is actually happening right now when industries are requiring competencies on AI. So in our team for the national workforce, We have come up with our plans for our country. Chet, Tesla are working together on National AI upscaling road map. That's why I'm telling you, hopefully, you can join some of them to prepare our students and workforce for an AI empowered world.
This is our framework. The OST, DOLE, the ICT, TESDA, and CHED. We will be giving more training to enhance technical skills. The private sectors universities will also help out all government agencies and the general public. So in the National AI Workforce Development Plan, we have committed funding for this.
And we are thinking that we need one million AI general workforce for our country, Ten thousand AI developers, three thousand AI engineers, two thousand AI experts by twenty twenty eight. Commitment to strengthen the Philippine competitiveness in the global AI economy while addressing the workforce gaps. Because when I look at the enrollment, five million higher education students of the Philippines. Two point eight million are coming from private schools and then we have a lot from state universities and colleges, local universities and colleges. But only eight hundred thousand are on ICT.
And many are in business, law courses, teacher education. So we really lack supply of AI workforce. We need to change the direction and the trend. We need a lot of manpower to help us in this AI era. So Chad will focus on upscaling level three and level four AI Work crease.
Wait. It's not moving. This is our, what we call as our goal. Some will have AI level zero foundational enablers. Higher than that is AI for everyone, level one.
Confidence building basic AI. Level two, AI in the workplace. Level three, AI for jobs, and four, AI for innovation. So Chad will help in level three, AI for jobs and specialization by enhancing our curriculum certification, and of course, AI for innovation. We'll be developing more labs in our universities and colleges.
So, a lot of things to do. Right? Now I'd like to inform you that we have also prepared our agenda at the Commission Higher Education under the leadership of chair a group piece with seven objectives. So, us, we will have integration of AI in higher education system. We will do that. We will also develop models for AI awareness, governance, more of advocacy, implement more of AI upscaling, capacitate AGIs on AI in the curriculum for human capital development pedagogies as well.
We will also harmonize research innovation, and of course promote integrity, transparency, and ethical use of AI, and establish local and international partnerships on artificial intelligence. Maybe you're the first one to know I just submitted this last week. So you'll be the first to know. And all of our inputs are collated by the Department of Science and Technology. So we are really into artificial intelligence and digital transformation at the Commission on Higher Education.
And Another thing is about the new policy of check on micro credentials. Because the reality is that we cannot change the curriculum right away. It takes five years, seven years, and even Edcom said that Chad is too slow in changing the curriculum. If you cannot change the curriculum right away for higher education institutions, what we can do is to tap micro credentials. Now here in Microcredentials, CMO number one, series of twenty twenty five for this year.
Before doing the policy, we did scoping study on lifelong learning. We saw only fifteen percent of universities and colleges are having lifelong learning and micro credentials. Not a lot. So we're thinking that the way to really train our learners for the future is to let them use micro credentials and have it recognized and accredited by institutions. So if students will take micro credentials on AI, on Internet of Things, on data sciences, they can take those courses and ask for accreditation of such.
So, there is a policy on how much micro credentials can be recognized and accredited by higher education institutions. There are different models by which micro credentials can be accredited. We also have a lot of questions. Since we introduced a new thing, there are a lot of questions during the consultation meetings. But basically, we would like to have more of artificial intelligence micro credentials that are being offered for our learners.
So all of those questions, it's here. We gathered them in a practical guide for micro credentials. This is our framework that, you know, CHED will set standards on accreditation. CHED will recognize providers of micro credentials and higher educations can offer stackable or non stackable micro credentials. This is also the future.
Micro credentials, all countries are talking about it, and we should have one common definition of micro credentials. Industries, they are actually offering micro credentials. And many of universities that I know, they have partnered with industries offering micro credentials already. It's expensive to develop one. So they tap partners from industries and they have agreement on which micro credentials they need in their own institution.
So there are principles of micro credentials. I have reviewed all those who have applied for micro credentials. Not a lot. I think fifteen institutions have submitted to CHED Microcredentials proposal for permit. And I have seen that many of their micro credentials are what the industry needs.
So what we can do is really to tap this opportunity to work with industries. We want micro credentials which are industry based. And The principles when we evaluate micro credentials that are forwarded to us, can see that they should be learner centered. They should be outcomes based or skill based. They should We offering personalized learning, usually an LMS.
Right? Industry driven, accessible, inclusive. You can learn anytime, anywhere. Flexible, portable, and with assessment, pretest and posttest. So this is what we look at. And there is only, I think, one page application form.
So please take a look at CMO number one. Another thing. So micro credentials is not just happening in the Philippines. It's all over. We have compared micro credentials in New Zealand, in Singapore, also in Australia, and Indonesia.
So it's really, fortunate that we have all friends Connecting us to micro credentials. And when we talk about AI, we can also see that there are a lot of transformation. Every time I speak, it's six billion. Now, it's already three hundred million dollars for AI industry. Right? So there are a lot of new applications helping us, and things are moving fast.
So how can we really make a policy on AI right now when everything is changing so fast? I think it's hard to catch up. Right? I need to have a break on all AI. But luckily, we're able to do the workforce development commitment for AI. Let me just, give you another information on AI. Every year, Stanford puts out something called the AI Index.
And think of it as a giant report card for everybody The shows were AI is. And how far it has come. I always update myself on what's the new thing on AI. So first, AI has exploded in scale and in cost, as I told you. Back in twenty nineteen, it's just a large language model, but now AI is reshaping the job market.
The race is global. China now accounts for more than half of the industrial robot installations worldwide. When I did one webinar on artificial intelligence, I have speaker from New Zealand, robots and AI there in the classroom already. So there is a big jump for this investment of one point seven billion that I told you for research alone And thirteen percent jump in investment a year before. So it means that AI is no longer just a lab experiment.
But AI is not just also a password, but it is becoming an engine driving our economies, everything, changing the industries, changing our classrooms. And so in the team, we have been working first on the study of AI, ethics in AI, we had a big conference in Indonesia in twenty nineteen. We have worked with some team of experts on the recommendations on AI guidance for policymakers and harnessing AI in higher education, chat GPT and higher ed Generative AI in Education. And last week, we see as well two competency framework. Competency framework for teachers on AI, and competency framework on AI for students just recently launched by UNESCO headquarters.
So the principle of AI of UNESCO is that keep AI human centered. It should serve us, teachers, the people. There should be ethical governance in the use of AI. You should ensure transparency as well, guarantee equitable access of AI to everyone and protect our planet. Without global consensus on AI, it's a lot of debate from policymakers around the world, But there should be a consensus on the use of AI and AI ethics.
So I'm very optimistic that AI will help us as teachers. And it should really make our lives easier. Right? Hopefully, it should make our world better, And it will only happen if ethics is observed and sustainability is built into the main foundation. So I would say that, well, jobs will change, skills will evolve. Every World Economic Forum, I'm looking at the reports on the new skills and new jobs.
Technologies will advance, but learning must never stop. And learning must be for everyone. AI makes things possible and easier for us. Yes. And that is how we should prepare our students and our learners.
Not just for the future of work, but the future of life itself. Is really life. You breathe and you live with it. So, thank you everyone for coming here today. I wish everyone an engaging conference. I wish everyone an engaging conference.