Capacity development Archives | Page 12 of 327

AI reshapes classrooms and universities across Vietnam education system

AI is becoming a central part of education in Vietnam, changing how schools are managed, how students learn, and how research is carried out. Officials say the shift is part of the country’s wider digital transformation in education.

Nguyễn Sơn Hải of Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training said earlier reforms focused on digitising activities, while AI is now reshaping teaching and administration more broadly. The ministry is also preparing legal and policy frameworks to support safe and controlled AI use in education.

Authorities have identified priorities, including AI skills for learners, shared digital platforms, and stronger infrastructure. An AI education programme for junior secondary pupils is being piloted and is expected to begin officially in the 2026–2027 academic year.

Universities are also adapting their strategies as AI changes higher education. Hanoi University of Science and Technology said it is redesigning training, assessment, and digital systems to reflect these changes.

At the same time, institutions, including Thai Nguyen University, are linking research more closely with business and local development needs. Officials say wider access to internet services and devices remains essential to ensure equal access to digital education.

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EU AI Continent Action Plan shows progress in infrastructure, data and governance

The European Commission has reported significant progress under its AI Continent Action Plan, marking one year of implementation aimed at strengthening Europe’s position in AI. The strategy focuses on infrastructure, data, talent, adoption and trustworthy AI.

Investment in computational capacity has expanded, with AI factories deployed across European supercomputers and further large-scale facilities in development. These initiatives aim to increase access to advanced computing resources for researchers and emerging companies.

On data governance, the Commission introduced the Data Union Strategy and complementary regulatory measures to improve data sharing and provide legal certainty for businesses.

Efforts to support talent development and mobility, alongside new training initiatives in the EU, form another central component of the plan.

The programme also promotes AI adoption across public and industrial sectors through targeted funding and coordinated initiatives. The overall approach reflects a policy framework designed to balance innovation with regulatory oversight and alignment with European values.

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Serpro joins Brazil-China AI cooperation protocol

Brazil’s Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Serpro, and the Chinese company iFlytek have signed a cooperation protocol on AI focused on building national capabilities for the functioning of the state.

According to Serpro, the protocol forms part of broader Brazil–China cooperation in science and technology. Acting Minister Luis Fernandes said the initiative aims to foster joint technology development and knowledge transfer with Brazil, with implications for digital sovereignty.

The protocol sets guidelines for cooperation in research, development, and capacity-building in AI, with a focus on large language models adapted to Brazilian Portuguese, translation and accessibility systems, cybersecurity applications, and AI infrastructure in Brazil. Serpro said the initiative also covers data centres, secure cloud, and interoperable data platforms.

Serpro will lead the technical execution of the initiative. The company said its role is to connect research, public policy, and delivery of public services, and added that it already has more than 300 AI-based solutions in its portfolio. The protocol also provides for training measures, including researcher exchanges, courses, technical visits, and scholarships.

The Serpro announcement states that initiatives under the protocol will depend on specific instruments to be concluded between the participants. It also presents the partnership as part of a broader effort to strengthen Brazil’s AI technical capacity through international cooperation.

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Microsoft outlines approach to scaling AI across organisational systems

A shift from early AI adoption towards what it terms ‘frontier transformation’ has been described by Microsoft, where AI is integrated into core organisational processes.

Such an approach reflects how AI is increasingly embedded within everyday workflows rather than used in isolated pilots.

According to Microsoft, scaling AI requires moving beyond experimentation and establishing structured operating models. It includes addressing practical challenges such as data integration, system reliability, and alignment with organisational objectives.

A framework that also highlights the importance of governance and execution, with AI systems expected to operate under defined standards similar to other critical infrastructure. Something that involves coordination across platforms, internal processes, and external partners.

Why does it matter?

Frontier transformation illustrates a broader transition in how organisations approach AI deployment, focusing on long-term integration, operational consistency, and scalable implementation across different sectors.

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Armenia plans AI road scanning system

Armenpress reports that the Government of the Republic of Armenia plans to acquire an AI-powered road-scanning device to improve infrastructure maintenance. The system is intended to assess road conditions and guide repair decisions.

According to the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia, the device will scan roads and use AI to determine the type and depth of repairs required. This includes identifying whether partial repairs or full reconstruction are needed.

Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia, Davit Khudatyan, stated that the AI technology will provide a detailed analysis by passing over road surfaces. The system is expected to improve planning and maintenance efficiency.

The project is estimated to cost between 500 and 600 million drams and forms part of broader efforts to modernise infrastructure management in Armenia.

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Government Digital Service and DSIT publish Digital and Data Benefits framework

The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) and the Government Digital Service have published the ‘Digital and Data Benefits framework‘, a policy paper that provides evidence and analytical methodologies for use in business cases and other associated products for digital and data projects across government. The document says it should be used alongside HM Treasury’s Green Book.

The framework covers AI, service transformation, data, capability, technology, cyber, and interoperability. It says its scope is the articulation and monetisation of digital and data benefits only, and that it is not stand-alone business-case guidance.

In the AI section, the framework states that recent Government Digital Service analysis found £6.3 billion in potential annual savings across the Civil Service, including £1.1 billion in potential cost reductions and £5.2 billion in productivity gains. It says the analysis used a large language model to review 200,000 Civil Service job descriptions, identify more than 1.5 million individual job tasks, and score each task for its potential for augmentation or automation by current AI tools.

The framework also states that a Government Digital Service trial involving 20,000 civil servants using Microsoft Copilot found average time savings of 26 minutes per day. It says more than 70% of users in the trial cohort spent less time searching for information and performing mundane tasks, and more time on higher-value tasks, innovation, or public service impact.

Beyond AI, the document sets out appraisal approaches for service transformation, data, capability, technology, cyber, and interoperability. It also states that sensitivity analysis is essential and that benefits identified in one theme should not be double-counted in other areas.

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Digital Public Goods Alliance roadmap incorporates UNESCO Open Solutions

UNESCO announced that its Open Solutions have been included in the Digital Public Goods Alliance’s roadmap as part of its membership.

Roadmap activities focus on Open Solutions supporting knowledge ecosystems and information resilience by advancing Open Educational Resources as digital public goods, mainstreaming equitable open access to knowledge ecosystems, unlocking open data for research and learning, and strengthening Free and Open Source Software, according to UNESCO.

Mariya Gabriel, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, said: ‘The inclusion of UNESCO’s Open Solutions— Open Educational Resources, Open Access, Open Data and Free and Open Source Software— in the Digital Public Goods Alliance roadmap, underscores our commitment to knowledge as a public good and to multilateral cooperation. Through these open systems, UNESCO supports Member States in expanding access to information and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.’

UNESCO said its Open Solutions support the discovery, use, and adaptation of digital public goods that help reduce structural barriers to knowledge. It added that they prioritise multilingual access, equitable participation, and the reuse of educational, scientific, and public-interest resources.

UNESCO described the Digital Public Goods Alliance as a multistakeholder initiative that supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by advancing the discovery, development, use, and investment in digital public goods. It said these include open source software, open data, open AI models, and open content that adhere to applicable laws and best practices, are designed to do no harm, and contribute to sustainable development.

Liv Marte Nordhaug, Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Public Goods Alliance Secretariat, said: ‘Through its Open Solutions, UNESCO is advancing open and inclusive knowledge ecosystems while strengthening the development and adoption of digital public goods that expand access to shared, interoperable resources and enable equitable participation in the digital age.’

UNESCO also said its engagement in the alliance contributes to implementing the UN Global Digital Compact and the United Nations Pact for the Future, reaffirming that knowledge, and the digital systems that underpin it, must remain a global public good, governed in the public interest, anchored in international human rights standards, and accessible to all without discrimination.

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Eurasian Development Bank Fund expands digital cooperation with Uzbekistan

A delegation from the Fund for Digital Initiatives (FDI) of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) visited Uzbekistan to enhance cooperation in digital transformation and AI technologies. Tigran Sargsyan, Vice Chairman of the EDB Management Board, met with Sherzod Shermatov, Minister of Digital Technologies and National CIO.

The meeting highlighted ongoing initiatives, including solutions in water management, labour markets, jewellery trade, and air quality monitoring. Uzbekistan’s Ministry representatives expressed interest in evaluating FDI-supported projects and presenting their own digital solutions.

Both parties agreed to develop a joint roadmap for implementing the projects and strengthening long-term collaboration. The FDI delegation also toured IT Park Uzbekistan to understand its role in innovation and startup development.

The visit marked a step toward accelerating Uzbekistan’s digital transformation and expanding economic and technological ties with the EDB Fund. Planned projects aim to integrate AI and digital tools to support sustainable growth and innovation.

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Adobe launches a free AI learning tool for students

The US software company, Adobe, has introduced Student Spaces, a free AI study tool within Acrobat designed to help students generate learning materials efficiently.

Users can create flashcards, quizzes, mind maps, podcasts, and editable presentations from PDFs, Docs, PowerPoint, Excel, URLs, and handwritten notes.

The tool builds on Acrobat’s AI features, now allowing students to interact with a chat assistant grounded in uploaded documents, reducing errors.

Tested with 500 students from universities including Harvard, Berkeley, and Brown, Adobe emphasises convenience, letting students generate study materials without constantly moving files.

The goal is to simplify study workflows and support learning across multiple document types.

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MIT system boosts data centre storage efficiency

Researchers from MIT have developed a software-based system designed to improve the efficiency of data centre storage by addressing performance variability across pooled solid-state drives (SSDs). The approach targets inefficiencies that persist when multiple devices are shared across applications in large-scale environments.

The Sandook system identifies and manages three key sources of SSD variability, including hardware differences, read-write interference, and unpredictable garbage collection. Instead of treating these issues separately, the method addresses them simultaneously to improve overall throughput.

Sandook uses a two-tier architecture combining a global controller, which assigns workloads across the storage pool, and local controllers on each device that respond in real time to performance slowdowns. The design enables the system to redistribute tasks and reduce strain on underperforming drives dynamically.

Testing on workloads such as machine learning training, databases, and image compression showed performance gains of up to 94 percent compared with traditional methods, along with higher overall storage utilisation.

The approach could extend the lifespan of existing infrastructure and reduce the need for additional hardware investment. The shift may improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness while making more sustainable use of existing computing resources and limiting the pace of hardware replacement.

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