NTNU Leads New Thinking in Asia-Pacific Teacher Education: Teacher Preparation Becomes a Global Focus in the AI Era
The 2025 Annual Conference of the Asia-Pacific Association for Teacher Education (APATE) was successfully held at National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) from October 17 to 18. Under the theme “Teacher Education in the Age of AI: Making a Difference in the Asia-Pacific Region,” the event brought together educational leaders and scholars from more than ten countries across Asia, the Americas, and Europe to explore new directions in teacher development and educational innovation amid the rise of artificial intelligence.
Hosted by NTNU’s College of Education, the conference was chaired by Distinguished Professor Hsiu-Lan Shelley Tien, Dean of the College. The opening ceremony held on the morning of October 17, with NTNU President Cheng-Chi Wu and Executive Vice President Yao-Ting Sung, who joined international guests in officially inaugurating the event.
Prominent attendees included Dean Bruce Macfarlane of The Education University of Hong Kong, Dean Ang Keng Cheng of the National Institute of Education, Singapore, Dean Satoru Tanoue of Kyushu University, Dean Barry Chung of San Diego State University, Director General Lê Anh Vinh of Vietnam National Institute of Educational Sciences. Also present were Mr. Bryan L. Tin, President, and Mr. David Day, Secretary-General of the Tin Ka Ping Foundation, a long-standing supporter of teacher education and international collaboration in the Asia-Pacific region.
In her opening remarks, Dean Tien noted that this was APATE’s first in-person international conference since the COVID-19 pandemic, making it especially meaningful. She expressed her honor in hosting the event and reconnecting face-to-face with scholars from around the world. She hoped the conference would advance professional development for doctoral students and teachers while continuing APATE’s spirit of “co-learning, co-creating, and co-thriving.”
President Wu welcomed the distinguished guests and reaffirmed NTNU’s pioneering role in teacher education in Taiwan. He observed that while Taiwan faces challenges such as declining birth rates and teacher shortages, the rapid advancement of AI presents new opportunities. He described AI as a powerful ally that can reduce teachers’ administrative burdens, optimize teaching processes, and allow educators to focus on student interaction and classroom innovation. He expressed hope that the conference would inspire new ideas and open new horizons for teacher education in the AI era.
Executive Vice President Sung, who chaired the keynote session, highlighted the generational and recruitment challenges in Taiwan’s education system, noting that fewer young people are pursuing teaching careers. He underscored that teacher preparation must extend beyond instructional techniques to foster innovative thinking and psychological resilience. He also called for greater attention to teachers’ mental health, interpersonal skills, and compensation, urging society and government to support educators in cultivating patience, confidence, and a strong sense of professional fulfillment.
The first keynote address, “Empowering Teachers Through Datafication and Artificial Intelligence: A New Era of Teaching?”, was delivered by Professor Dirk Ifenthaler of the University of Mannheim. He traced the evolution from early computer-assisted instruction to today’s generative AI, illustrating how technology has reshaped both learning and the role of teachers. Professor Ifenthaler emphasized that AI empowers educators to better understand student progress through data analytics and to design personalized, human-centered instruction—positioning teachers as insightful learning designers in the digital age.
The second keynote, presented by NTNU Distinguished Professor Yuan-Hsien Tseng, was titled “How to Evaluate Student Responses with LLM.” Drawing from his own research, Professor Tseng demonstrated applications of AI in automated scoring and semantic analysis. He noted that large language models can assist teachers in interpreting open-ended student responses and providing deeper diagnostic insights. However, he cautioned that educators must ensure accuracy, fairness, and ethical integrity in AI-based assessment. He reaffirmed that teachers remain the irreplaceable core of the learning process, and that AI should serve to enhance—not replace—professional expertise.
The two-day event fostered vibrant academic exchange and strengthened collaboration among participants. As President Wu concluded, the advancement of AI will not diminish the humanity of education—it will instead highlight the indispensable value of teachers. The conference marks a new chapter for Asia-Pacific education—one that is both human-centered and technologically empowered.