Artificial intelligence reshaping Belarus’ higher education, assessment practices
How artificial intelligence is affecting the assessment of student work was discussed by Belarusian Education Minister Andrei Ivanets during the plenary session of the Second National Rectors’ School on 27 August.
“Face-to-face learning is not going anywhere, but we must not forget about modern technologies. Last year, for the first time, we established rules and ethics for the use of AI by students when writing term papers and theses. At the same time, we must understand: we can tell students as much as we want that AI should be used consciously and that information should be processed, but such technologies are like a drug,” Andrei Ivanets said.
He called for thinking not only about the ethics of using AI but also about new formats of student assessment - how to test both knowledge and skills. “The traditional format of writing term papers and theses will undergo serious transformation in the near future - this is a challenge and a task for our rectors. In the past, there were companies that wrote term papers. Today, there are bot farms that write without human involvement, and we must respond to these challenges. We do not need to seek a controlling function, trying to figure out whether a student used AI or not. If they solved a specific case with AI that no one else could solve, then they did well. But we need to find ways to test practical skills,” the education minister added.
In his view, AI is a tool in human hands - a kind of exoskeleton that must be used correctly. “In 2025, our Chinese colleagues presented a powerful educational platform based on artificial intelligence, with more than 2.5 billion people already registered on it. This technology allows a Nobel laureate to become your mentor,” Andrei Ivanets said. “At first, we were skeptical about this idea, but over time we realized that China is ahead of everyone, because if they don’t create such platforms, someone else will.”
He is convinced that these platforms will help countries unlock their potential, giving students quick and easy access to the knowledge they need.