Third Asian Liberal Education Conference Held at Yuan Ze University

On November 21, 2025, Yuan Ze University hosted the Third Asian Liberal Education Conference (ALEC) at the Yan-Gong Hall on the third floor of Building 5. The forum was jointly organized by the Asian Liberal Education Network (ALEN), which consisted of the Korean Association of General Education (KAGEDU), the Japanese Association for College and University Education (JACUE), and the Chinese Association for General Education (CAGE).

After its inaugural conference at Yonsei University in 2023 and its second edition at Tohoku University in Japan in 2024, the third conference took place at Yuan Ze University, further deepening trilateral cooperation in general education across East Asia.

This year’s theme, “Advancing Liberal Education in East Asia: Cultivating Innovative Thinking, Global Citizenship, and Human-Centered Learning in the Era of AI,” addressed the educational challenges and transformation brought by rapid developments in artificial intelligence and digital technology. The forum invited scholars and practitioners from Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, including nine distinguished experts representing KAGEDU and JACUE. Through cross-national dialogue, the forum demonstrated ALEN’s commitment to promoting regional collaboration.

The event opened with welcoming remarks from the President of the Chinese Association for General Education and President of Yuan Ze University, Cheng-Jung Liau. This was followed by the first keynote speech delivered by Tsai-Yen Li, President of National Chengchi University and Principal Investigator of the Ministry of Education’s iGER Project, who analyzed the trends and current status of general education development in Taiwan.

The second keynote presentation was delivered by Professor Satoshi Ozeki of Japan, who discussed Japan’s AI education policies, Society 5.0, and its outcomes-based education framework.

The third keynote featured Professor Jeong Eun Nah of Yonsei University, who shared Korea’s practices in integrating liberal education with AI literacy, emphasizing interdisciplinary understanding, computational thinking, and the cultivation of T-shaped talents.

The final keynote was delivered by Hung-Jen Wang, Vice President for Academic Affairs at National Taiwan University, who outlined NTU’s conceptual framework and practical strategies for embedding AI competencies into its general education curriculum.

To enhance cross-linguistic communication and continue the tradition of the forum, professional simultaneous interpretation was provided. In addition, Wei-En Chang, a student from Yuan Ze University’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering, assisted in developing an AI real-time captioning system. The system displayed synchronized English and Chinese subtitles on the main screen, becoming a highlight of the event.

The forum concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Professor Jung-Hui Chuang, Executive Board Member of the Chinese Association for General Education. The session integrated perspectives from the three countries and fostered in-depth exchanges on educational policy, curriculum development, and institutional innovation. With the convergence of educational visions from Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, the conference not only strengthened international ties but also opened new directions for future collaboration in liberal education across East Asia. It was confirmed that next year’s fourth conference would be hosted by the Korean Association of General Education.