In March, Syracuse Florence Director and Director of Global Innovation of Syracuse Abroad Sasha Perugini presented her latest research on AI and study abroad at the Forum of Education Abroad Conference in Toronto, where she participated in two panels.
In the first, “From Tensions to Transformations: The EU Perspective on Study Abroad,” Dr. Perugini presented with Syracuse Abroad colleagues Associate Provost and Executive Director Erika Wilkens, Director of Global Teaching & Learning Troy Gordon, and Syracuse Strasbourg Director John Goodman. In it they explored the challenges of managing expectations versus reality in the field of international education.
Perugini chaired the second panel, “AI and Study Abroad: An Overview,” in which she explored ethical tensions with Attorney Gianfranco Borio and delved into the AI-driven job market. Panelists discussed questions like: What does it mean to study abroad in an age when ‘place’ is increasingly decoupled from presence? How do we preserve learning, while engaging with tools that can simulate it but that can also dumb us down?
“Far from a futuristic abstraction,” Perugini explained, “artificial intelligence is reshaping how we design, deliver, and experience international education.”