[INTERVIEW] Grades matter less than motivation in AI era, HKU vice-president says

Jay S. Siegel, vice president of the University of Hong Kong, said in an interview on the university’s campus in Hong Kong that student motivation matters more than grades. He argued that examinations can encourage learning, but their scores do not necessarily show whether students have developed intellectual habits or a lasting desire to learn. Siegel said AI could support administration, research and student preparation for deeper discussions with professors. He wants graduates to leave with ways of thinking and learning that endure beyond their qualifications.

Siegel also serves as pro-vice-chancellor for teaching and learning at HKU.

He said his personal views on assessment should not be taken as HKU’s official position, and he does not advocate eliminating examinations or relaxing standards for factual accuracy.

HKU’s AI Hub offers AI-based applications, including Ark Junior.

Siegel said AI could help researchers identify patterns in large datasets and simplify admissions procedures.

He described wisdom as involving the creativity of the questions people ask and the maturity of their decisions.

Published Oct 29, 2026 7:00 am KST

University education should change how students think, not just what they know

Professor Jay S. Siegel, vice-president and pro-vice-chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times on the university’s campus in Pokfulam, Hong Kong, Sept. 2. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

This is the seventh in a series of interviews as The Korea Times speaks with leading university presidents across the globe to examine how institutions are redefining education, research and international collaboration in an era shaped by artificial intelligence, demographic shifts and geopolitical uncertainty. The series is supported by the Korea Press Foundation's Press Promotion Fund.

HONG KONG — When asked how artificial intelligence (AI) is changing higher education, Jay S. Siegel, vice president of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), began by challenging the premise of the question.

“I don’t think that higher education is moving beyond content delivery and into critical thinking,” he said during an interview with The Korea Times on the university’s campus.

Siegel, who also serves as pro-vice-chancellor for teaching and learning, argued that leading universities have always sought to develop independent thinkers. What concerns him more is whether universities place too much emphasis on grades and examinations rather than encouraging students to develop a lasting desire to learn.

“Motivation is more important than assessment,” he said.

Siegel believes examinations are valuable primarily because they encourage students to study, rather than because of the grades they produce. Preparing for a test requires students to read, think and engage with material, and that effort may matter more than the eventual score.

A student who studies diligently but receives 70 percent instead of 85 percent may still have gained considerably from the experience, he explained.

“Again, it’s a behavioral modification, not an outcome,” he said.

He pointed out that some highly creative people performed poorly in school, even though they may have studied hard and discovered new interests while preparing for exams.

Conversely, students who excel at memorizing and reproducing information may not develop the intellectual habits needed to become creative thinkers.

Siegel also questioned the assumption that a student with a 4.0 grade point average is necessarily better equipped for intellectual growth than one with a 3.0.

Placing excessive value on grades, he argued, can encourage students to seek external approval rather than question their own knowledge and judgment.

“In some ways, the 3.0 student is better off because she questions her own knowledge,” he said.

Such students may be more willing to examine their shortcomings and ask what they need to do differently, he explained.

Siegel stressed that his personal philosophy should not be taken as HKU’s official position on assessment. He does not advocate eliminating examinations or relaxing standards for factual accuracy. Instead, he believes universities should focus more on what drives students to learn than on the grades they receive.

Students hurry to their classrooms on the first day of the fall semester at the University of Hong Kong in Pokfulam, Hong Kong, Sept. 2. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

AI as tool for deeper learning

At HKU, Siegel said, AI has a role to play in administration, teaching and research.

AI could simplify admissions procedures, freeing staff to focus on other work. Researchers, meanwhile, could use AI to spot patterns in large amounts of data that might otherwise go unnoticed.

In teaching, he believes AI could help students prepare for more productive discussions with their professors.

He described a learning environment in which students could use AI to access lectures and reading materials and ask questions whenever they encounter difficulties.

HKU is working to support this through its AI Hub, which offers AI-based applications such as Ark Junior.

Such tools could encourage students to make reading, questioning and independent thinking part of their daily routine. By the time they meet their professors, they would be ready for more substantial discussions, rather than simply receiving information.

“Then when you get to finally sit with the professor, now you get great value,” he said.

For Siegel, the aim is not to replace educators or other university employees with technology, but to give them more time for work that requires human judgment and creativity.

“We’re not interested in replacing people as much as we are in making sure that these very talented people that we’ve hired have more time,” he said.

Professor Jay S. Siegel, vice-president and pro-vice-chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, poses for a photo following an interview with The Korea Times on the university’s campus in Pokfulam, Hong Kong, Sept. 2. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

'Knowledge is not the same as wisdom'

Having spent five decades in higher education, Siegel said universities were already emphasizing inquiry and critical thinking in the 1970s. Students were expected to acquire much of their factual knowledge independently, while professors helped them develop intellectual maturity and the analytical skills needed to ask meaningful questions.

What matters most, he argued, is whether an education changes the way students behave long after they have completed their courses.

“Teaching is not done through certificates and degrees. Teaching is done by changing behavior,” he said.

He offered the example of a writing course. Even if students earn excellent grades and understand the principles of effective writing, the course has accomplished little if they never develop the habit of writing afterwards.

He described universities as communities of scholars in which students develop relationships that sustain learning throughout their lives. Even years after graduation, students can keep learning from the people they met at university, he said.

AI may make knowledge easier to obtain, but Siegel noted that libraries have long contained far more information than any individual could absorb. Access to knowledge alone has never been sufficient to explain the value of university education.

“Knowledge is not the same as wisdom,” he said. “Wisdom manifests in the creative character of what questions one asks and in the maturity of the decisions we make. Wisdom comprises personal knowledge and social experience without being limited or fully defined by them.”

As HKU seeks to strengthen connections between academic and campus life, Siegel said he wants graduates to carry with them a distinctive way of thinking, rather than merely a collection of qualifications.

His ambition is that even a decade after graduation, a brief conversation with an HKU alumnus would reveal how the university had shaped that person’s outlook, intellectual habits and approach to life.

香港大学副校长杰伊·西格尔在香港校园接受采访时表示，学生的学习动力比成绩更重要。他认为，考试可以激励学习，但考试分数并不一定能反映学生是否养成了良好的学习习惯或持久的学习热情。西格尔表示，人工智能可以辅助学校的行政管理、科研工作，并帮助学生为与教授的深入探讨做好准备。他希望毕业生能够带着超越学历本身的思维方式和学习方法离开校园。

Siegel 同时担任香港大学主管教学与学习的副校长。

他表示，他个人对评估的看法不应被视为香港大学的官方立场，他也不主张取消考试或降低事实准确性的标准。

香港大学人工智能中心提供基于人工智能的应用，包括 Ark Junior。

西格尔表示，人工智能可以帮助研究人员识别大型数据集中的模式，并简化入学程序。

他将智慧描述为包含人们提出的问题的创造性和他们做出的决定的成熟度。

发布于2026年10月29日韩国时间上午7:00

大学教育应该改变学生的思维方式，而不仅仅是他们的知识水平。

9月2日，香港大学副校长兼常务副校长杰伊·西格尔教授在香港薄扶林校区接受《韩国时报》采访。照片由《韩国时报》崔元硕拍摄。

这是《韩国时报》系列访谈的第七篇。该系列访谈旨在采访全球顶尖大学校长，探讨在人工智能、人口结构变化和地缘政治不确定性等因素影响下，各高校如何重新定义教育、科研和国际合作。本系列访谈由韩国新闻基金会新闻推广基金资助。

香港——当被问及人工智能（AI）如何改变高等教育时，香港大学副校长杰伊·西格尔首先对问题的前提提出了质疑。

“我不认为高等教育正在超越内容传授，走向批判性思维，”他在大学校园接受《韩国时报》采访时说道。

同时兼任教学副校长的西格尔认为，一流大学历来致力于培养独立思考者。他更担心的是，大学是否过于重视成绩和考试，而忽视了鼓励学生培养终身学习的热情。

他说：“激励比评估更重要。”

西格尔认为，考试的价值主要在于它能激励学生学习，而非最终的分数。备考需要学生阅读、思考并深入理解学习材料，而这种努力可能比最终的分数更重要。

他解释说，一个勤奋学习的学生，即使只得了 70 分而不是 85 分，也可能从这段经历中获益匪浅。

“再次强调，这是一种行为改变，而不是一种结果，”他说。

他指出，一些极富创造力的人在学校的表现却很差，即使他们可能努力学习，并在备考过程中发现了新的兴趣。

反之，擅长记忆和复述信息的学生可能无法培养出成为创造性思考者所需的思维习惯。

西格尔还质疑了这样一种假设：平均绩点为 4.0 的学生一定比平均绩点为 3.0 的学生更有利于智力发展。

他认为，过分看重成绩会鼓励学生寻求外部认可，而不是质疑自己的知识和判断。

他说：“从某种意义上说，GPA 3.0 的学生反而更好，因为她会质疑自己的知识。”

他解释说，这样的学生可能更愿意审视自己的不足之处，并询问自己需要做出哪些改变。

西格尔强调，他的个人理念不应被视为香港大学在评估问题上的官方立场。他并不主张取消考试或降低对事实准确性的要求。相反，他认为大学应该更加关注学生学习的动力，而不是他们最终获得的成绩。

9月2日，香港薄扶林，香港大学秋季学期开学第一天，学生们匆匆赶往教室。韩国时报崔元硕摄

人工智能作为深度学习的工具

西格尔表示，在香港大学，人工智能将在行政、教学和研究方面发挥作用。

人工智能可以简化招生流程，让工作人员腾出精力专注于其他工作。同时，研究人员可以利用人工智能从大量数据中发现原本可能被忽略的模式。

他认为，在教学方面，人工智能可以帮助学生为与教授进行更有效的讨论做好准备。

他描述了一种学习环境，在这种环境中，学生可以使用人工智能来访问讲座和阅读材料，并在遇到困难时提出问题。

香港大学正通过其人工智能中心为此提供支持，该中心提供基于人工智能的应用程序，例如 Ark Junior。

这些工具可以鼓励学生将阅读、提问和独立思考融入到日常生活中。当他们与教授见面时，他们就能进行更深入的讨论，而不仅仅是被动地接收信息。

“当你最终有机会和教授坐下来好好谈谈时，你就会受益匪浅，”他说。

西格尔认为，其目的不是用技术取代教育工作者或其他大学员工，而是让他们有更多的时间从事需要人类判断和创造力的工作。

他说：“我们更感兴趣的不是替换员工，而是确保我们聘请的这些非常有才华的人有更多的时间。”

9月2日，香港大学副校长兼常务副校长杰伊·西格尔教授在香港薄扶林校区接受《韩国时报》采访后合影留念。（《韩国时报》崔元硕摄）

知识并不等同于智慧。

西格尔在高等教育领域工作了五十年，他表示，早在20世纪70年代，大学就已经开始强调探究式学习和批判性思维。学生们需要独立获取大部分事实性知识，而教授们则帮助他们培养智力成熟度和分析能力，以便提出有意义的问题。

他认为，最重要的是教育能否在学生完成学业后很长一段时间内改变他们的行为方式。

“教育不是通过证书和学位来实现的。教育是通过改变行为来实现的，”他说。

他举了写作课的例子。即使学生取得了优异的成绩，也理解了有效写作的原则，但如果他们之后从未养成写作的习惯，那么这门课就毫无意义。

他将大学描述为学术共同体，学生在这里建立的人际关系能够促进他们终身学习。他说，即使毕业多年后，学生仍然可以从大学里结识的人那里继续学习。

人工智能或许能让知识更容易获取，但西格尔指出，图书馆所藏的信息量早已远远超过任何个人所能吸收的。仅仅获取知识本身并不足以解释大学教育的价值。

他说：“知识并不等同于智慧。智慧体现在我们提出的问题的创造性以及我们做出的决定的成熟度上。智慧包含个人知识和社会经验，但又不局限于此，也不完全受其定义。”

香港大学致力于加强学术与校园生活之间的联系，西格尔表示，他希望毕业生能够拥有独特的思维方式，而不仅仅是一系列资格证书。

他的目标是，即使在毕业十年后，与香港大学校友的简短交谈也能揭示出这所大学是如何塑造了该人的世界观、思维习惯和人生观的。