At the 6th ASEF Higher Education Innovation Laboratory (ASEFInnoLab6) Conference convened at Fudan University in Shanghai from 14-17 October 2025, the powerful Shanghai Manifesto on Universities' Role in Developing Skills for an AI-Powered Future was issued.

Co-created by 24 higher education professionals, academics, and researchers from Asia and Europe, the Manifesto presents 13 principles as a collective call to action that urges universities to respond to AI not merely as a technological trend, but as a profound societal and ethical turning point that reshapes the mission, practices, and responsibilities of higher education.

Key Highlights of the Manifesto

At its core, the Manifesto insists on a human-centred approach to AI. It calls on universities to put people before algorithms, ensuring that technology enhances, rather than diminishes, human agency, creativity, and critical thinking. The principles champion the right to think differently, safeguarding diversity of thought and cultural plurality in an era increasingly shaped by machine logic. Ethics is positioned as non-negotiable, underscoring that innovation without moral grounding risks being hollow and harmful in the long term.

Equity and access are equally central. By urging institutions to bridge the AI divide, this call to action emphasises shared responsibility in ensuring that AI tools, skills, and opportunities do not exacerbate existing inequalities. Learning is reconceptualised as lifelong, life-wide, and borderless, advocating for flexible formats such as micro-credentials, open educational resources, and community-based hubs that democratise access to education beyond traditional classroom walls.

The Manifesto further challenges universities to become living laboratories that provide spaces for experimentation, civic innovation, and cross-sector co-creation. It calls for breaking disciplinary silos, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration that unites technologists with social scientists, ethicists, and artists to address AI’s complex implications holistically.

Why This Manifesto Matters?

The Manifesto stands as more than a statement of ideals. It is a strategic compass for higher education leaders navigating a rapidly evolving AI landscape. By urging evidence-based governance, participatory regulation, and accountability, it provides a framework for responsible AI integration that protects the interests of diverse stakeholders, including students, educators, policymakers, and communities.

It also highlights the role of Asia-Europe cooperation in shaping an equitable AI future. Through shared knowledge, open platforms, and joint initiatives, both regions are positioned to model a collaborative, values-driven approach to AI in education—one that prioritises sustainability, inclusivity, and the common good.

As universities face mounting pressure to adapt to technological disruption, the Manifesto offers clarity, direction, and resolve. It affirms that while AI may transform systems and structures, the heart of higher education must remain rooted in human dignity, critical inquiry, and collective responsibility.