BiCED-7 at UIN Bukittinggi: Fusing AI, Emotion, and Faith into Future Classrooms
BUKITTINGGI — The rapid penetration of artificial intelligence (AI) across the globe is doing more than just driving technical efficiency—it is forcing a fundamental redefinition of how human beings learn and interact. At the heart of this discourse, the intersection of advanced technology, emotional design, and religious values took centre stage at the 7th Bukittinggi International Conference on Education (BiCED) 2026, hosted in a hybrid format by the State Islamic University (UIN) Sjech M. Djamil Djambek Bukittinggi on Thursday (Sept 10).
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| UIN Bukittinggi Rector Prof Dr Silfia Hanani opening the 7th BiCED conference on Sept 10. Amid rapid AI advances, she urged academics to publish their research, calling critical literacy a vital civilisational duty. |
Centred on the theme The Future of Integrated Learning: Bridging STEM, Islamic Values, and Global Literacy, the international academic forum brought together cross-disciplinary perspectives from foreign scholars and local academics. The discussions went beyond the mere adoption of modern tools, focusing instead on building a future educational ecosystem anchored in civility, humanistic understanding, and intellectual independence. The conference also gathered applied research through a call for papers, with selected works compiled and published in the BiCED-7 Proceedings.
Opening the discourse from a technological frontier, Dr S. Vimal, Dean and Professor at the School of Computing & Emerging Technologies, KIT India, delivered a paper titled “Multimodal Generative AI for Healthcare”. Dr Vimal underscored the urgency of leveraging multimodal generative AI—systems capable of simultaneously processing text, medical imagery, and sensor data—to accelerate diagnostic accuracy and patient care modelling, while serving as a vital cornerstone for digital-era STEM education.
Yet technology remains hollow without an affective touch. Prof Ts Dr Anitawati Mohd Lokman from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Malaysia brought a humanist perspective through her address, “Emotion Meets Integrated Learning: A Kansei-Inspired Framework for the Future of Education”. Applying Kansei—a Japanese design philosophy that translates human emotion and nuance into system frameworks—Prof Anitawati stressed that future learning environments must bridge cognitive and psychological realms to ensure the educational experience remains meaningful and intrinsically human.
The religious and sociological dimensions were enriched by Dr Sles Nazy, Rector of the Cambodia University of Management and Technology. In his presentation, “Integrating Faith, Society, and Technology: Multimedia Approaches in Islamic Education in Cambodia”, Dr Nazy outlined a tripartite integration of faith, societal needs, and digital media. He highlighted multimedia approaches as a strategic conduit to broaden the reach of Islamic education in Cambodia without diluting its core tenets.
These theoretical frameworks found concrete application in research presented by scholars from UIN Bukittinggi. Dr Supriadi delivered his findings on “The Effect of Chatbot Selection and Prompt Engineering on the Quality of E-Books for Islamic Junior High School Teachers in Agam Regency”, demonstrating how prompt engineering and applied AI can significantly elevate the quality of digital teaching materials at the local level. Meanwhile, Leli Lismay, Ph.D., examined literacy strategies in her paper, “The Effect of Skimming Strategy on Students’ Reading for Academic Purposes Achievement: Fostering Global Literacy in Higher Education”, emphasizing speed and precision in reading as essential tools for students navigating global scholarly literature.
Meeting of Minds: Navigating Education Amid Disruption
Epistemologically, the five presentations at BiCED-7 converged on a single, compelling message: cutting-edge technology without the anchors of emotion, religious ethics, and critical literacy yields nothing more than mechanical instruction.
Amid waves of digital disruption that risk dehumanising learners and fragmenting information, the conference addressed contemporary challenges through three key pillars:
Synthesising Technology and Humanism: Dr Vimal’s insights on Multimodal Generative AI found their equilibrium in Prof Anitawati’s Kansei framework. Advanced algorithms must be tempered with emotional intelligence so that technology acts as a catalyst for human potential rather than a replacement for empathy in pedagogy.
Transforming Values and Accessibility: Dr Sles Nazy’s vision and Dr Supriadi’s empirical study illustrated how digital media and prompt engineering serve as pragmatic tools to ground religious values and widen access to quality instructional materials—down to madrasah teachers in Agam Regency.
Fostering Global Intellectual Autonomy: Leli Lismay’s focus on academic literacy provided a vital capstone. In an era saturated with AI-generated data, critical and efficient reading techniques (skimming) serve as a shield, ensuring future generations do not become passive consumers of information, but agile navigators of knowledge.
A Call to Write and Build Global Ties
In her opening address, UIN Bukittinggi Rector Prof Dr Silfia Hanani made a impassioned plea, declaring that an institution’s intellectual engagement must not end in ephemeral discussions or verbal rhetoric. She urged that grand ideas bridging technology and religious values be translated into structured, peer-reviewed scholarship.
"Lecturers and students must write!" Prof Silfia declared, issuing a sharp call to action. Writing, she noted, is far more than a routine administrative duty—it is a civilisational responsibility to safeguard critical literacy. Without a strong culture of publication, groundbreaking ideas and academic research risk evaporating without leaving a trace on global intellectual progress.
Echoing this sentiment, Dr Junaini, Dean of the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training (FTIK) at UIN Bukittinggi, expressed deep appreciation to all speakers, researchers, and international partner institutions for bringing BiCED-7 to fruition.
Dr Junaini voiced hope that the insights gathered during the conference would serve as a catalyst for reforming integrated curricula, while bolstering sustainable international research networks in the years ahead. [IRWANDI]
