[Editor’s Note] Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized, “Education digitization is pivotal for China to pioneer new pathways and advantages in education.” In the Era of Intelligence propelled by surging digital waves, higher education’s digital transformation has emerged as an irreversible global trend, a developmental necessity, and a strategic imperative for institutional reform. Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) has actively seized these opportunities, positioning digital transformation as the core engine for systemic reforms. By driving innovations such as smart campuses, AI-enhanced teaching ecosystems, and data-driven governance frameworks, the university aims to establish itself as a national benchmark for digitally transformed higher education institutions. Coinciding with the 2025 World Digital Education Conference, where WUT will host the parallel session “AI for STEM Education”, this portal launches the “Digital Intelligence @WUT” column. We invite global educators to explore collaborative pathways and to envision future paradigms of education together.

“Wise individuals adapt with the times; insightful ones respond to evolving circumstances.” In the era of surging digital tides and intelligent technology, disruptive innovations such as artificial intelligence and large-scale models are redefining global higher education. The world is entering the inaugural year of smart education, accelerating a comprehensive transformation across the educational landscape. In this sweeping paradigm shift, China is charting its course with the strategic wisdom of “identifying change”. The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) included the concept of “education digitalization” in its report, proposing to “promote digital transformation in education and build a learning-oriented society and a country where lifelong learning is pursued by all”. With the implementation of the national education digitalization strategy, the Ministry of Education has launched the three-year Digital Education Strategic Action Plan, marking China’s distinct footprint in the global wave of educational reform.

What has Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) done amid this digital surge? In response to the national strategy, WUT acted swiftly to align with the central directives. The University views strengthening Party leadership as the fundamental guarantee for advancing transformation, while ideological unity and collective synergy serve as its strategic foundation—both the “opening move” and the “master key”. Guided by Party building, WUT has remained firmly in step with national development priorities, proactively embracing the historic opportunities brought by the digital age. With momentum and determination, WUT is moving forward to deeply advance its digital transformation agenda, striving to become a benchmark university in this domain.

The Fourth Party Congress of WUT

“Efforts must be made to advance a human-technology-integrated model for educational digitalization”, during the Fourth Party Congress of WUT in 2023, Party Secretary Xin Sijin emphasized in his report the need to “thoroughly implement the tasks of implementing the national education digitization strategy”, laying out a high-level plan to advance WUT’s digital transformation efforts. The congress reviewed and approved the Second Mid- to Long-Term Strategic Development Plan of Wuhan University of Technology, and formulated a “theory-and-practice-driven” action guide, offering strong guidance for the university’s aspiration to become a model for digital transformation in higher education. 

Seizing the strategic opportunity of national education digitization, WUT released the Strategic Action Implementation Outline for Educational Digitalization of Wuhan University of Technology (2022-2025), establishing the “13410” digital transformation framework of WUT. In alignment with the new development stage, new development philosophy, and new development paradigm, WUT remains closely focused on fulfilling its fundamental mission of moral education. WUT centers efforts on the integration of physical, digital, and social spaces, while advancing the coordinated development of cloud infrastructure, networks, data, and terminals. Under this top-level design and leadership, WUT’s digital transformation in education is taking shape as a comprehensive “three-in-one” model, accelerating its drive toward high-level technological self-reliance and strength.

High-Quality Talent Development, Admissions & Employment Conference

“We must respond proactively to changes, and the key lies in digital empowerment and driving reform and innovation”, emphasized President Yang Zongkai at WUT’s High-Quality Talent Development, Admissions & Employment Conference in 2022. Centered on the theme of “thoroughly implementing the digital strategy to fully empower high-quality development in education and teaching”, WUT launched the “5·30” Action Plan, leveraging educational informatization as a core driver to promote digital empowerment across education, teaching and talent cultivation. Guided by the “Five New” initiative-new standards, new drivers, new models, new systems, and new culture and supported by thirty concrete measures including digital enablement, policy direction, and management support, the plan aims to establish a new talent cultivation ecosystem that is connected, open, shared, and personalized, marking a new chapter in WUT’s education reform empowered by digital transformation. Over the past three years, WUT has pioneered the “Dual-Track Five-Dimension” model—dual instructors, dual spaces, dual colleges, dual integration, and dual certification. As a result, blended learning now accounts for 81% of all classes, with flipped classrooms reaching 22%. The number of educational interventions extended to has increased by 30%, significantly boosting the quality and outcomes of WUT’s talent cultivation, admissions, and graduate employment.

“Only reformers advance, only innovators thrive, and only those who reform and innovate prevail.” Standing at the forefront of technological innovation, WUT will keep pace with the times, embrace new technologies and changes with the bold spirit of “adapting to constant change through transformation”, stay true to its original aspiration and mission in education with the conviction of “embracing changes with unchanging resolve”, and remain committed to establishing the “WUT Paradigm” as a leading model for educational digital transformation.

Source: Publicity Department of WUT, Office of Administration of WUT, Undergraduate School of WUT, Information Office of WUT

Written by: Xie Xintian

Reviewed by: Ju Chao

Edited by: Li Tiantian, Liang Muwei, Wang Jingjing