The Centre for Vocational Education and Skills Development organised a research track at the International Summer Institute in Shanghai.
The 'race' between technology and education has been a key topic on the agenda for the past fifteen years. What impact do technological and AI advances have on the demand for skills and qualifications within the education system? How do the skills in demand in the labour market change?
Vera Maltseva and Maksim Nikitin, employees of the HSE University Centre for Vocational Education and Skills Development, organised one of the three research tracks at the International Summer Institute on Educational Research 2025: Artificial Intelligence in Education, which took place from 7 to 11 July 2025 on the campus of East China Normal University in Shanghai.
The AI and Skills track brought together ten participants from Russia, China and Indonesia. The discussions focused on how artificial intelligence is transforming the set of necessary skills in the modern economy, and how education systems can and should adapt to these changes.
During the track, Vera Maltseva, the Centre Director, delivered a lecture on the impact of technologies on the demand for skills and the education system. She also presented an overview of current empirical research into the influence of AI on the labour market and education. Participants also took part in workshops dedicated to the quantitative analysis of skill demand using job vacancy data. The track concluded with a series of debates on the pros and cons of implementing AI in education, as well as presentations of participants' research projects.
'It is gratifying to see that we managed to go beyond a purely pedagogical and sociological approach when analysing the influence of AI, by adding the necessary economic perspective. This provided a more holistic view of such a large-scale transformation. Thanks to this, we have expanded our network of professional contacts and partners with whom we can now develop joint research initiatives,” Vera Maltseva noted.