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Future of education: APEC Secretariat chief offers insights into AI Initiative

Published: 05 Nov. 2025, 15:38 Updated: 05 Nov. 2025, 16:42

LEE TAE-HEE
[email protected]

Eduardo Pedrosa, executive director of the APEC Secretariat, talks during a session at the QS Higher Ed Summit: Asia Pacific 2025 on Nov. 4. [QS QUACQUARELLI SYMONDS]

With the recent APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting ending with the unveiling of the APEC AI Initiative, an opportunity for Korea's industry and its universities has appeared in the development of the technology.

The AI initiative is APEC's first formal statement on AI and also the first one endorsed by both the United States and China. APEC countries vowed to cooperate on AI and make it inclusive, with Korea also proposing to establish the Asia-Pacific AI Center.

Amid the focus on AI development, universities also have a role to carry out as educators and those facilitating research. For schools, collaboration with companies within APEC countries can lead to faster growth.

"There are multinational companies, and while they work within their jurisdiction, there is also the option of international partnerships, and the multinational companies can help bridge gaps that universities face," said Eduardo Pedrosa, executive director of the APEC Secretariat. "But we need to have platforms that can foster dialogue between multinational companies and domestic universities."

Finishing the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting on Saturday, Pedrosa stayed in Korea a little longer to also attend the QS Higher Ed Summit: Asia Pacific 2025, held between Tuesday and Thursday. He participated in a session under the theme "Higher Education as an Engine for Societal and Economic Transformation" on Tuesday, discussing how universities can widen their impact through areas such as AI, health care, entrepreneurship and lifelong education.

To talk about the recent APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and APEC's role in fostering collaboration in education, Pedrosa sat down with the Korea JoongAng Daily for an interview during the higher education summit on Tuesday.

Below are edited excerpts from the interview, edited for length and clarity.

Eduardo Pedrosa, executive director of the APEC Secretariat [APEC SECRETARIAT]

Q: The APEC AI Initiative was declared during the recent APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. What role can Korea play to help carry out the initiative?

A: Korea is a big partner, and participating in the future work we do is going to be useful. Seeing how AI gets integrated into the manufacturing process is going to be something very interesting to see. I don't know if Korean companies are willing to share their IP, but at recent meetings, there were demonstrations at exhibition areas. And I think there's a lot of interest in sharing practices and understanding how different manufacturers in the Asia Pacific can learn from one another.

All the economies in the region are taking different approaches and have different concerns and regulations, and APEC will come up with something that's useful for all — and that includes implementing the AI framework.

Universities can also play a role in AI development by fostering students and research. But do you see any gaps between APEC's AI policy ambitions and the actual capacity inside universities?

Not all universities are looking at AI, and they don't have to. It will be the research-oriented universities that will be doing so. Are there gaps in this? Sure. Engineering skills is one of them, and the ability to meet technical standards is another. Creating partnerships with businesses is another important area. Those partnerships can be not only domestic, but also international.

Many Korean universities are creating more AI departments and recruiting more students. But with an admissions quota, this inevitably means there will be less focus on other academic fields. How can universities achieve balance in such a situation?

AI can be vertical, and we do need specialists. But AI also cuts across every discipline and can help enhance how we teach in any field. Even if you have an admissions quota, AI has its importance across every department. There can be specialized departments in AI, but we can also have ones that continue with their studies while incorporating AI.

APEC also promotes collaboration in education and research between its members. What has been some of the work it does?

We have APEC Study Centers around the world, which foster research and academic discussions supporting the broader APEC mission of regional economic integration. There's also one in Korea, and the APEC Study Centers Consortium recently held a successful conference. But it can be improved. While APEC Study Centers have become very solid amongst the political science and economics faculty, if we're talking about other fields like AI, we do need to ask ourselves if we have been reaching out enough to the engineering faculty.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [[email protected]]