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With education designated as a growth engine in Hong Kong’s new development blueprint, the planned Northern Metropolis university town faces a pivotal moment. Artificial intelligence (AI) is dismantling the foundations of traditional learning. Simply expanding science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) programmes or enrolment capacity will not set us apart. If Hong Kong is to become a premier global education hub in the AI era, it must pioneer a fundamental pedagogical transformation.

Higher education must pivot away from theory-heavy knowledge recalls and towards essential human skills development: systems thinking, emotional intelligence, critical thinking and ethical reasoning. These must be cultivated through active, interdisciplinary learning and real-time problem-solving.