剑桥大学副校长访问惠灵顿杭州校区，共话国际化创新人才培养之道

“我很好奇，大学会如何防止学生使用ChatGPT作弊呢？”

“我们根本不需要去阻止学生。”

这样惊人的回答背后，究竟蕴藏着怎样的教育理念？

拥有800余年历史的世界顶级名校——英国剑桥大学，与浙江省历史最为悠久的城市杭州再一次产生了深刻的共鸣。

10月23日下午，剑桥大学副校长、剑桥大学超导工程终身正教授、英国皇家工程院院士David Cardwell来到了惠灵顿杭州校区。 

Cardwell教授此行的主要目的，是深化中英教育交流，希望有更多的国际化创新性人才，并向学生和家长们详细介绍剑桥大学和英国其他名校申请的流程和招生标准，以及剑桥大学希望寻找什么类型的人才。

他以自身丰富的教育经验和独特的视角，带领学子们感受了国际化视野里的创新人才素质和培养方式，共同思考如何在未来的世界中找到自我定位并持续提升。 

惠灵顿杭州校区是Cardwell教授此次中国之行至关重要的一站。 

“惠灵顿杭州校区是英国顶尖教育理念与实践的汇聚地。他们颇具特色的问题导向学习（Problem-based Learning）和以学生为中心的教学方法（student-centered pedagogy），为我们探讨教育成功的关键要素提供了重要的基础。” 

Cardwell教授在讲座中分享了“成功教育”的关键要素，认为良好的教育能够为学生打开新的视野，激发他们的创造力。他特别提到，问题导向学习和PBL（一种以学生为中心的教学方法）是非常有效的学习手段，可以帮助学生在解决问题的过程中增强自主学习能力，培养出广泛的分析和批判性思维技巧。 

“传统的教育方式就像我在黑板上写一个方程式，教你怎么解方程，然后测试。问题导向学习则不会给你提供解决方案，它只给问题。学生必须和同龄人在小组范围内一起提出这个问题的解决方案。不断尝试，你就会获得将技术知识应用于实际任务中的能力。这样，教育就使创新成为了可能。” 

正如Cardwell教授所强调的，一个人早早开始研究，并不能代表他就是创新人才，只有通过接受教育、不断学习，掌握必备知识和技能，才会变得越来越“创新”。

“教育促进创新，而不是创新造就教育，不要试图先成为一名创新者再去自学。你接受的教育越多，掌握的知识越多，你就能成为一名更好的创新者。”

以剑桥大学为例，每门本科课程最后一年的一半时间通常是专门给学生进行密集研究的，所以，在此之前学生应多花时间学习技能，这些技能将使学生有可能成为一名优秀的研究人员。 

除此之外，Cardwell教授还向大家介绍了剑桥大学及其他罗素集团大学（Russell Group Universities）的申请要点。他对2022年剑桥大学的申请数据进行了整体回顾，并指出，择校不仅要看学校的声誉和排名，但更重要的是看学校的课程设置是否符合学生的个人发展需求。

Cardwell教授向惠灵顿杭州校区的学生和家长们介绍了剑桥大学录取学生最关键的因素——学生对于专业学习和学术研究的热情。无论学生如何修饰自己的个人介绍，对于专业学习的热情是“装”不出来的，更何况是在经验丰富的剑桥大学招生官面前。 

“世界各地的学生中往往有一种文化：在考试中拿到第一最重要。成绩固然重要，但良好的教育远不止于在各类考试中分数名列第一。” 

多听建议、遵循自己的内心以及准备几个“B计划”是非常重要的。“本科教育只是一个开始。绝大多数申请剑桥的学生都没有收到录取通知书，但你可以把回到剑桥攻读研究生作为一项‘B计划’，许多学生都在这样做。如果你决心接受剑桥教育，即使你在本科申请中没有成功，未来也同样可能有机会。”他说。 

他还鼓励学生们一定要根据自己的兴趣和热情去选择专业，除了优异的学术成绩外，学生们还应在申请大学时展现出独特的个性和才华，表现出对所选学科的热情和独特理解。 

“如果你应当申请剑桥，那是因为我们提供的课程适合你。今天听了我的发言后，可能很多人在进一步思考后认为剑桥不适合他们，转而选择牛津或者其他大学。这会是非常好的决定。”Cardwell教授说。 

讲座结束后，Cardwell教授与惠灵顿杭州校区的五位学生代表展开了精彩的圆桌讨论，内容涵盖人工智能、未来规划、职业技能培养、心理健康以及数字化学习工具是如何融入剑桥大学的教学和学习的。 

Rebecca同学谈到了她对科学的热爱，以及动手做实验的重要性——她认为线上学习无法取代实验室内的学习体验；William同学则谈到了数字工具能够弥补自身的弱势，包括ChatGPT在内的各类数字工具对于未来的学习至关重要。 

在这之后，William同学将一个尤为尖锐的问题抛给了Cardwell教授：“我很好奇，大学会如何防止学生使用ChatGPT作弊呢？”

教授随之而来的回答另在场所有人感到目瞪口呆：“我认为，我们不需要阻止他们。”

“ChatGPT也是一种信息的来源，”教授解释，“这是一种双向的关系，ChatGPT既能用来生成内容，也可以用来识别内容的走向，发现那些并非来自用户本人的内容。”

Cardwell教授对ChatGPT的使用秉持乐观的态度。

“举个例子，假如一位学生在网上提交了十篇文章，但是第十一篇文章非常不一样，我们就会警觉起来。这样一来，在口试阶段，我们就会让学生就他的文章详细展开谈谈，但显然学生是做不到的。这样的机制能让学习的过程更为智能。”

在谈到职业规划时，Dora同学觉得自己年纪还很小，不能为未来的道路做出明确的规划，但她希望在自己上大学的时候，能把在惠灵顿杭州校区所学的技能付诸应用，以帮助自己做出正确的职业选择。 

学生代表们还与教授一同讨论了数字化学习将会如何改变教育领域。Rebecca提到了惠灵顿杭州校区正在使用的“作业提交网站”，网站能够实现实时在线评论与更正，这样的网站为学生提供了巨大的便利。除此之外，Dora提到了搜索引擎正在逐步取代课本，搜索结果即时呈现，使研究和学习更加便捷高效。 

学生会主席Hanni向Cardwell教授询问了中国留学生最应该加以提升的是哪些方面，以及剑桥大学是如何在软技能方面，如沟通、合作和自主学习，为学生们的未来做准备的。

Cardwell教授强调了“承担责任”的重要性——他解释说，“大学并不是一个把知识‘喂’给学生的地方，恰恰相反，学生们将有机会在架构清晰的课程里学习，大家必须要为自己的未来负责。” 

在这一点上，Cardwell教授的想法与惠灵顿杭州校区的五大核心价值观之一“责任（Responsibility）”不谋而合。我们在平时的日常教学与校园生活中，经常向学子们灌输责任意识，我们通过组织各种活动，提升学子们的社交能力、协作能力、领导力等21世纪人才所需的关键技能，这也是在未来助力他们未来无缝衔接高校学习的关键素养。

五位学生代表各抒己见，表现出敏锐洞察力和溢于言表的自信，充分展现了惠灵顿学子的风采——他们不仅对未来有着清晰的规划，更能主动了解并探索可能会出现的新职业。他们的表现，无疑让在场所有人对新一代学生的未来产生了期待。

Cardwell教授对惠灵顿杭州校区学子热烈、积极的思辨方式留下了深刻的印象，鼓励学生们努力追求自己的梦想，勇敢地去体验、去尝试、去创新。

回顾整个下午，学生与家长们感受到的不仅仅是知识的传递，更是教育信念的闪耀。Cardwell教授对于卓越教育的炽热激情与深深坚守，相信会在每一个惠灵顿杭州校区的学生心中播种下希望的种子，引领他们走向更为广阔的世界，并实现他们的梦想。 

Pro Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge: 

Talks international talent

"I'm curious, how do universities prevent students from using ChatGPT to cheat?"

"We don't need to stop students at all."

What kind of educational philosophy is behind such an 'unexpected' answer?

Hangzhou, a city with the most profound history in Zhejiang Province, resonates with the University of Cambridge, one of the world's top universities with a history of more than eight centuries, when Professor David Cardwell, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and tenured Professor of Superconducting Engineering of the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, visited Wellington College Hangzhou on the afternoon of 23 October. 

Professor Cardwell's visit aimed to increase the educational exchange between China and the UK and to cultivate more innovative international talents. He then provided a detailed overview of the application and admission process of the University of Cambridge and shared his insight on what type of talents the university is looking for. 

Professor Cardwell's extensive experience in education and insightful perspective provided valuable guidance to the pupils on the quality and cultivation of innovative talents from a global perspective. Pupils were inspired to reflect on their own place in the future world and the ways to achieve continuous improvement. 

Wellington College Hangzhou was a crucial stop on Professor Cardwell's trip to China. 

“Wellington College Hangzhou is a hub where the most advanced British educational philosophy and practices join. Their distinctive problem-based learning and student-centred pedagogy provided a solid foundation for us to discuss the essential elements of educational success.” ——Professor Cardwell

Professor Cardwell shared the essential components of a ‘successful education’ and believed that quality education expands the horizons of pupils and sparks their creativity. He specifically noted that problem-based learning (PBL), a pedagogical approach that prioritises the pupils’ role in learning, is a highly effective method that can enhance pupils’ learning initiative through problem-solving and foster an extensive skill set of analysing and critical thinking. 

“A teacher writes an equation on the board, teaches a pupil how to solve it, and then evaluates their performance – this is a traditional approach to teaching. In contrast, problem-based learning presents the problem instead of the solution, which pupils must come up with in groups with their peers. Keep trying and you will develop the ability to apply your technical knowledge to real-world tasks. This is how education makes innovation possible.” 

As Professor Cardwell emphasised, beginning research at an early age is not what makes one an innovator.  It is through education, continuous learning and acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills that one becomes more innovative. 

Education plays a crucial role in fostering innovation. It's not the other way around where one becomes an innovator and then seeks education. The more knowledge you acquire through education, the better equipped you are to be an innovator. Therefore, education is essential in enabling and promoting innovation.

At Cambridge University, for example, half of the final year of each undergraduate course is usually research-intensive, which is dedicated to students' research. Therefore students should focus on acquiring the necessary skills in the earlier years which will enable them to become good researchers. 

In addition, Professor Cardwell demonstrated the key points when applying to the University of Cambridge and other Russell Group Universities (RGUs). He reviewed the 2022 Cambridge application data and emphasised that besides the reputation and ranking, a greater factor in choosing a school is to evaluate how well the curriculum aligns with a pupil’s personal development needs. 

What the University of Cambridge looks for the most during its admission process, according to Professor Cardwell in his presentation to pupils and parents at Wellington College Hangzhou, is a pupil’s enthusiasm for their chosen subject and academic research. No matter how much a student tries to perfect their personal statement, their passion for a specific field cannot be ‘pretended’, especially in front of experienced admissions officers at the university. 

"There is often a culture among students around the world that getting first place in an exam is the most important thing. Grades are important, but a good education is about much more than coming first in every test." 

It's important to listen to advice, ask yourself questions, and have a few "Plan B's." "Undergraduate education is just the beginning. The vast majority of students who apply to Cambridge do not receive an offer, but you can consider returning to Cambridge for postgraduate study as a 'Plan B', as many students are doing. If you are determined to get a Cambridge education, even if you don't succeed in your undergraduate application, there may still be opportunities in the future." 'he said. 

He encouraged pupils to choose their subjects based on their interests and passions. In addition to submitting excellent academic performance, they should demonstrate their unique personalities and talents while applying and showcase their passion and unique understanding of their chosen subjects.

“If you apply to Cambridge, it should be because the programme we offer is the right fit for you. Many might reflect after today’s session and decide that Cambridge is not suited for them but Oxford or another university may be. It would be wise to make decisions based on this understanding,” said Prof. David Cardwell. 

Following his presentation, Professor Cardwell and five pupil representatives from Wellington College Hangzhou engaged in an exciting panel discussion to explore such topics as artificial intelligence, future planning, career skills development, mental health, and how digital learning tools are integrated into teaching and learning at the University of Cambridge. 

William, for example, talked about digital tools that are useful in recognising and strengthening weaknesses. He believes these tools are essential for learning and preparing for the future. Similarly, Rebecca spoke about her love of science and how important it is to conduct hands-on experiments. She feels that online learning cannot replicate the experience of being in a laboratory. 

After that, William posed a particularly pointed question to Professor Cardwell: "I'm curious, how does the university prevent students from using ChatGPT to cheat?"

The professor's response surprised others in the room: "I don't think we need to stop them."

"ChatGPT is also a source of information," the professor explained. "It's a two-way street. ChatGPT can be used to generate content, but it can also help to identify the direction of content, to discover content that was not produced the user."

Professor Cardwell is very optimistic about the use of ChatGPT.

"For example, if a student submits ten articles online, but the eleventh article appears vastly different, we will be alerted. Therefore, during the oral examination, we will ask the student to discuss their essay in detail, but obviously, the student can't do that. Such a mechanism would make the learning process smarter."

Dora, on the other hand, felt that she was not yet old enough to make decisions about her future career path thoroughly. However, she hopes by the time she goes to university, she will have developed all the skills taught at Wellington College to enable her to make the right choice. 

The pupils also discussed how digital learning has changed the education landscape, with Rebecca highlighting the use of homework submission websites for real-time online comments and corrections in WCCH. These websites offer convenience and accessibility for students. Similarly, Dora shared how search engines have replaced textbooks, and the results are instantaneous, making research and learning more accessible and efficient. 

Hanni, Head of College, asked Professor Cardwell which aspect that you've noticed international students, especially Chinese students should work on, and how Cambridge University prepares students for the future in terms of soft skills like communication, cooperation, and independent learning. Professor Cardwell emphasised the importance of taking responsibility. He explained that the university does not spoon-feed students; instead, students are given the opportunity to learn from a well-defined curriculum delivered in a certain way. So ultimately, students must take responsibility and reap the benefits or suffer the consequences. 

In this regard, Professor Cardwell's thoughts align with one of Wellington College Hangzhou's five core values: Responsibility. In our daily teaching and campus life, we strive to instil a strong sense of responsibility in pupils. We organise various initiatives to improve pupils’ social skills, collaboration skills, leadership abilities and other key competencies needed by 21st century talents.  These attributes are also key qualities to help them transition into their future university studies.

Five pupils shared their unique perspectives, demonstrating their keen insight and self-assurance, and showcasing the exceptional quality of Wellington's student body. Not only do these pupils have clear plans for their future, but they are also proactive in exploring potential new professions- that do not yet exist! Their impressive performance left everyone in attendance eagerly anticipating the bright future of the next generation of pupils.

Professor Cardwell was impressed by the enthusiastic and positive mindset of our pupils. He encouraged them to pursue their dreams and to experience, experiment and innovate with courage. 

In retrospect, it was the imparting of knowledge and educational values that impressed our pupils and parents. Professor Cardwell's passion and unwavering dedication to educational excellence have planted seeds of hope in the hearts of every pupil at Wellington College Hangzhou, guiding them to realise their dreams in a wider world.