XJTLU and OAE Publishing Inc. launch Future Education journal

A new international academic journal dedicated to the future of education made its debut at the Second International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Education (ICAIE), held from 13 to 15 May 2026 at the XJTLU Entrepreneur College in Taicang.

Future Education, co-founded by Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) and OAE Publishing Inc., is a peer-reviewed, open-access publication focused on the systems, institutions, and pedagogical models that will define how humanity learns in the decades ahead. Its launch was marked by a formal inauguration ceremony bringing together educators, researchers, and publishing professionals from across the globe.

From left: Professor Stuart Perrin, Professor Youmin Xi and Min Fan

Professor Youmin Xi, Executive President of XJTLU and Editor-in-Chief, argued that the rapid development of AI is not simply a technical disruption, but an invitation to rethink the very architecture of education. "The future of education demands a systemic reconstruction of educational ideas, of how we cultivate talent, and of how institutions engage with the world," he said.

Professor Youmin Xi, Executive President of XJTLU and Editor-in-Chief of Future Education

Professor Stuart Perrin, Chief Officer of (Education) Ecology and Executive Editor, went further: rather than marvelling at what AI can do, the more urgent question is what it should prompt us to change. "We ought to be asking how education systems need to transform," he said, "not simply marvelling at the technology."

Professor Stuart Perrin, Chief Officer of (Education) Ecology at XJTLU and Executive Editor of Future Education

Min Fan, President of OAE Publishing Inc., noted that the launch represents OAE's most substantial commitment yet to education research, drawing on its global networks to amplify the journal's reach and impact.

Future Education will publish work across four areas: the transformation of educational ecosystems; human learning in an era of AI; transnational and cross-cultural education; and the practical pathways through which educational innovation takes root.

Min Fan, President of OAE Publishing Inc.

The launch takes place in XJTLU's 20th anniversary year, a fitting milestone for a university that began as an experiment in Sino-British collaboration and has grown into one of China's most distinctive higher education institutions. Future Education is both a product of that experiment and a vehicle for extending it: conceived not merely as an outlet for scholarly articles, but as a working platform for consultation, exchange, and collaboration between researchers, practitioners, and the wider education industry.

Photos and text provided by Yifei Ren
Edited by Patricia Pieterse