Taylor’s 16th TTLC 2025 Champions AI and Sustainable Learning Innovation

The 16th Taylor’s Teaching and Learning Conference (TTLC 2025), hosted by Centre for Future Learning, Taylor’s University, marked a defining moment in higher education as it brought together international academics, researchers, policymakers, and industry practitioners to explore the theme ‘Higher Education in the Age of AI: Transforming Learning for Sustainable Futures.’ Building on a strong legacy of innovation, TTLC 2025 introduced deliberate shifts to align with emerging global priorities, including the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), curriculum innovation, and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as a core educational purpose. The conference reflected Taylor’s continued commitment to transforming education for societal progress while expanding its international footprint and cross-sector engagement. This year’s edition celebrated several milestones, including the launch of the International Conference by YB Dato’ Seri Diraja Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, Minister of Higher Education, who also conferred the prestigious Self-Accreditation Status (SWA) on Taylor’s University, marking a major achievement in the institution’s academic journey. The conference also featured the participation of a student leader as a forum panellist, underscoring a growing emphasis on student voices within academic discourse. Together, these elements reinforced TTLC’s evolution into a globally connected and strategically positioned platform for higher education transformation. A Vision for the Future of Learning Three keynote addresses anchored the conference, each presenting a distinct yet complementary vision for the future of education. Professor Charles Hopkins , UNESCO Chair in Reorienting Education towards Sustainability at York University, Canada, called on universities to move beyond producing employable graduates and focus instead on nurturing ethical and socially responsible individuals who contribute to the common good. He urged institutions to adopt a whole-institution approach that embeds sustainable development principles in curricula, governance, research, and campus culture. His address emphasised that education must equip students to meet the global challenge of ensuring ‘enough for all, forever,’ and advocated for youth empowerment through co-created learning experiences and active participation in decision-making. Professor Danny Liu  from the University of Sydney explored how AI is transforming teaching and assessment practices. He encouraged educators to rethink the purpose of education, shifting the focus from ‘stuff’ (content and knowledge) to ‘skills’ and ‘soul’ — developing self-awareness, resilience, and lifelong learning abilities. Professor Liu introduced the ‘Two-Lane Assessment Model,’ a balanced framework combining supervised assessments for rigour with open assessments that allow flexible and ethical integration of AI tools, ensuring education remains both relevant and human-centred. Meanwhile,  Professor Ong Yew Soon  from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, delved into the power of AI and gamification in driving authentic learning experiences. He highlighted how fostering curiosity and passion among learners is key to lifelong learning in an AI-driven world. His presentation showcased how gamified and AI-supported learning platforms can create purpose, engagement, and authenticity, particularly for Gen Z learners. He also urged educators to adopt responsible and ethical approaches to AI, equipping graduates with the literacy needed to navigate the information age while maintaining integrity and social responsibility. Reimagining Higher Education in the AI Era The forum session,  ‘Higher Education in the Age of AI: Transforming Learning for Sustainable Futures,’  brought together a distinguished panel comprising Professor Dr Darren Bagnall, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Taylor’s University (Panel Moderator); Professor Ts Dr Zaidatun Tasir, Senate Member, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia; Associate Professor Dr Logendra Stanley Ponniah, Head, School of Education, Taylor’s University; Associate Professor Dr Lim Chee Leong, Senior Director, Learning Innovation and Development, Taylor’s University; and Tisha Amadea, Director of Events Management, Agent of Tech, Taylor’s University. The discussion underscored that AI is no longer a peripheral tool but a transformative force reshaping learning, assessment, and institutional strategy. While AI enhances personalisation and efficiency, participants stressed that the biggest barriers to adoption are not technological, but institutional — involving resistance to change, lack of staff readiness, and the need for clear governance and problem-solving frameworks.  The forum also reimagined assessment design, urging a shift from judgement-based evaluations to those that focus on growth, creativity, and ethical reasoning. It introduced a vision for future-ready assessments that are learning-oriented, authentic, participatory, and ethically responsible, while reminding educators that human feedback through empathy, mentorship, and emotional intelligence remains irreplaceable. The final insight emphasised the need for human-centred, purpose-driven education in the AI era. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into higher education, the forum highlighted that emotional connection, cultural understanding, and human interaction must remain the cornerstone of learning experiences. Research That Redefines the Future of Learning TTLC 2025 spotlighted groundbreaking research with the potential to reshape how teaching and learning evolve across Malaysia and the region. Among the award-winning works, three stood out for their depth, originality, and lasting influence. Professor Ts Dr Chockalingam Aravind Vaithilingam from Taylor’s University presented  ‘Sustainable Impact Through Living Labs’  a study that reimagines how education can drive tangible change. By integrating cross-disciplinary projects into the curriculum, the research showed how Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) can generate measurable environmental and social outcomes while enriching student learning through real-world engagement. From the British University Vietnam, Mr Darius Postma’s  ‘AI Assessment Scale (AIAS)’  offered a timely framework for embedding generative AI ethically and transparently into academic practice. His work underscored the importance of structured faculty training and policy coherence to ensure that AI enhances, rather than undermines, the integrity of learning and assessment. Meanwhile, Dr Subashini K. Rajanthran from the University of the Arts Singapore, in her paper  ‘Playful Pedagogy in Assessment,’  challenged conventional evaluation methods by demonstrating how role-play, games, and creative simulations can deepen understanding, spark imagination, and build more engaging classroom experiences. Where Sustainability, AI, and Humanity Meet Across TTLC 2025, recurring themes revealed how the boundaries of higher education are being redefined through interdisciplinary thinking and shared purpose. Sustainability was no longer discussed as a purely environmental pursuit but reframed as a moral and societal responsibility — one that connects governance, curriculum design, research, and youth empowerment in a holistic vision for the future.  At the same time, Artificial Intelligence emerged as a transformative force, as highlighted by Professor Darren Bagnall, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic) of Taylor’s University, in his remarks on the evolving role of universities in the age of AI. He noted that institutions must rethink how teaching, learning, and assessment evolve without losing sight of what makes education inherently human. The dialogue underscored that technology should serve as an enabler of empathy, creativity, and ethical awareness, rather than a replacement for them. Equally significant was the call for transdisciplinary collaboration. Educators and researchers were encouraged to move beyond disciplinary boundaries and draw from diverse knowledge systems, from Indigenous wisdom to gamified learning and student co-creation, to design more inclusive, human-centred futures. These intersecting ideas reflected a shared conviction that the future of higher education will be shaped by the meaningful convergence of sustainability, technology, and humanity. Looking Ahead to TTLC 2026 While TTLC 2025 made significant strides in advancing dialogue on sustainability, AI, and curriculum innovation, the chairperson of the Conference, Associate Professor Dr Lydia Foong, recognised that the conversation is far from complete. There remains a growing need to engage more deeply with diversity and inclusivity, particularly in how higher education institutions can better support neurodivergent learners, culturally and linguistically diverse students, and multilingual learning environments.  Building on this momentum, TTLC 2026 will broaden its focus to champion inclusive, ethical, and sustainable learning ecosystems that reflect the evolving realities of global education. This next iteration will extend dialogue on digital ethics, well-being, and collaboration across disciplines, ensuring that technological innovation in education remains guided by humanity, equity, and ethical responsibility. As the conference drew to a close, one question resonated among participants, a challenge that will continue to shape future dialogues: How can we ethically harness the power of AI while embedding sustainability, inclusion, and purpose at the heart of transformative education?