HAI EDUCATION, HAI FUTURE

From July 7 to 11, 2025, the annual conference of the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) was held in Istanbul, Türkiye. Academician Wu Zhiqiang, President of the World Urban Planning Education Network (WUPEN), together with his team, was invited to attend and actively participated in this international event. At a special forum, Academician Wu delivered a keynote speech titled “HAI Future, HAI Education” and presented several exploratory practices of the WUPEN team in the field of HAI planning education.

Academician Wu Zhiqiang (center) with team members at the opening ceremony venue

I. Special Forum on “Innovating Planning Education in the Age of AI Emergence”

During the 2025 AESOP Annual Congress, WUPEN, as a key supporting partner, actively participated in the special forum “Innovating Planning Education in the Age of AI Emergence,” hosted by GUIHUA: Frontiers of Urban and Rural Planning (FURP) on July 8, 2025. The forum, focusing on innovation in urban planning education in the context of the rise of artificial intelligence, brought together leading international scholars, including WUPEN President and FURP Editor-in-Chief, Academician Wu Zhiqiang of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; GPEAN President Professor Paulo Silva; ISOCARP members Professor Daniele Vettorato and Professor Sebnem Hoskara; AESOP Young Academics Network Chair Guo Qingyuan, along with members Sıla Ceren Varis Husar and SaeBom Song. Together, they explored the transformative potential of AI in reshaping planning education.

GUIHUA - Frontiers of Urban and Rural Planning

At the opening of the forum, Wei Ruhang, Editor of FURP, delivered welcoming remarks on behalf of the organizer, extending a warm greeting to all participants and briefly introducing the journal’s development and internationalization. FURP is committed to building a bridge for dialogue between China and the global planning community, and actively promotes cross-disciplinary discussion and practical exchange on frontier topics such as AI in planning education.

In the first session, Academician Wu Zhiqiang delivered a keynote speech entitled “HAI Future, HAI Education,” in which he elaborated on the disruptive impact of AI on higher education in developing countries, particularly in urban planning education. He stressed that AI should not be regarded merely as a tool, but as a core driving force for educational innovation. By fostering highly personalized training systems, students can connect in real time with global knowledge frontiers.

Wu presented several pioneering practices of the WUPEN team: the creation of an innovative platform attracting 270,000 young users and offering over 3,200 free courses to help students clarify their research directions; and the development of “AIWUS,” a personalized AI tutor that simulates his own thinking and provides around-the-clock academic guidance to students worldwide. This model goes beyond traditional teaching methods, emphasizing student-centered learning pathways. He underlined that while AI empowers education, equal attention must be paid to students’ individuality and mental well-being, and called on universities worldwide to build a more open, collaborative, and co-created education system, in order to reconstruct planning education for the future.

https://aiwus.wupen.org

The AESOP special forum received strong support from AESOP President Professor Maria Håkansson, GPEAN President Professor Paulo Silva, and several deans of European planning schools, and was held to a full house.

Full house at the AESOP Special Session

The in-depth participation of the WUPEN team not only fostered discussion on frontier issues of planning education in the AI era, but also showcased to the international planning education community in Istanbul WUPEN’s pioneering explorations and practical achievements in AI-enabled planning education.

At the AESOP Congress, WUPEN presented its global platform serving 270,000 users and its intelligent dialogue system “AIWUS,” and exchanged cutting-edge perspectives with international experts during the forum discussions. Looking ahead, WUPEN will continue to open its educational resources to support the discipline in navigating technological transformation. Building on its innovative platform and practical experience, WUPEN will further strengthen cooperation with international partners such as AESOP, jointly leading planning education worldwide to adapt to the profound changes of the AI era and to promote knowledge sharing and collaborative development.

Edited by Li Chun with reference to  https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/uEHB7S-7IvybvYA8rDJKdQ?scene=1&click_id=25