In summer 2026, Rowan University hosted a two-week AI for Education international professional-development programme in the United States for a higher-education delegation from Uzbekistan. PEDU was invited to mediate the programme: supporting communication and translation, and helping participants interpret the content comparatively in relation to their own institutional context.
The programme included a visit to Princeton and discussions connected to the fast-changing relationship between artificial intelligence, teaching, research and university leadership. The purpose was not to import a ready-made American or Finnish model. It was to examine how institutions can make more informed decisions about AI literacy, assessment, staff capability, student support and responsible implementation.
What a serious international programme should create
Questions, not only tools
Participants considered what AI changes in learning and academic work, and what professional judgement must remain with educators and institutions.
Relationships, not only visits
Meetings with researchers, university leaders and practitioners create a basis for future dialogue that a standard study tour rarely reaches.
Context, not copying
Each idea must be examined against the delegation’s own language environment, policy context, resources and institutional priorities.
Follow-through, not a final photograph
The value of a visit is measured by the questions it clarifies and the next action participants can responsibly take afterwards.
The experience showed the value of careful mediation in international programmes: helping approximately 30 participants move beyond passive observation, understand content across contexts and identify what can responsibly be carried forward after they return home.
