From Editorial Board
By Abhishek Jaiswal
PGDIM, IIM Mumbai, Lead Product Manager, Globus Learn Corp
The world in 2025 is very different from earlier times. Yes, we have heard this before, and every generation thinks it is very different from the previous one. But there is one traditional skill humans have had for thousands of years, irrespective of technological or other changes in society. That skill is handwriting to express our thoughts and creativity. Even today, schools and colleges encourage students to use their creativity and write what they think, but it has never been like what we have today. Never before have students had access to such a vast variety of tools that help in writing and expressing oneself. Heck, they can even write a complete essay for you. This has led to serious repercussions, as no one is willing to think for themselves when a tool can do it for free. Our upcoming generations may take it for granted and not even make an effort to think. This sets a dangerous precedent and has the potential to derail humanity’s progress.
The current generation, Gen Alpha, has questioned why we even need to write and think. It is not their fault either. With new-age messaging tools that prioritize short-form writing over longer, professional messages, they are wired to think like that. This generation excels at writing with emoticons, short-form lingo, etc. They are simply not interested in writing longer sentences when they can express their feelings with short-form content. What they do not realize is that it means they are also not developing the skill to think deeply before writing, which can seriously undermine their ability to reason, question, and do better in life. The less said about attention spans, the better. What Generation Alpha thinks is that instant access to information via AI and the internet means they do not need to memorize anything or take notes either. Studies have shown that handwriting boosts memory and comprehension compared to typing, and this is especially true for young children. It is granted that using technology has its own benefits, but if one wants to stand out in this age of AI, one must be original, and that cannot be achieved by typing or taking aid from technology for even smaller things. Those who can strike a balance will achieve bigger things in life.
You might ask, what is the solution then? The solution cannot be forced upon this Alpha generation, as they will simply resist. What we need is journaling solutions that sync handwritten notes with digital tools and provide instant feedback on writing to help users write more creatively. Or even digital devices with a stylus that help this Alpha generation retain the art of writing with a pen while still making use of technology. In fact, teaching should also evolve, from a strict blackboard model or a rigid PowerPoint/slides model, to a more advanced version where multimodal mediums like video, audio, and hand-drawn digital visuals become common. Asking students to write their thoughts about the lesson using pens or digital pens for brainstorming will help them develop critical thinking skills and original thought. To develop visual creativity, using handwritten storyboards for animated videos or collaborative mind maps could be crucial in helping them imagine things they otherwise would not. Combining this with social validation online will only boost their confidence and motivate them to think more.
Future will be brighter, and new generations are going to be smarter than the current one. We only have to provide them guidance, keep them connected to their roots, and they will do much better than we ever imagined.
Big Global News
1. Stanford Urges AI Skills for Gen Alpha
Stanford’s Human-Centered AI (HAI) at Stanford has released a major policy response urging schools worldwide to rethink how AI is used in education. The report emphasizes that AI should not replace thinking, but strengthen students’ ability to reason, question, and evaluate information. For Gen Alpha, this means moving beyond passive AI use to actively learning skills like critical thinking, prompt engineering, and judgment, so students can engage with AI as an intelligent partner rather than a shortcut. Stanford highlights that the future of learning lies in combining AI tools with strong human thinking skills, preparing students not just to use AI, but to think better because of it.
2. OECD Warns AI Must Advance Equity & Inclusion
A major new working paper from the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD) highlights both the promise and risks of artificial intelligence in education, urging policymakers worldwide to ensure AI boosts fairness, access and inclusion for all learners. The report finds that learner-centred and teacher-led AI tools can help personalise learning and support diverse student needs, but also cautions that inequitable access, algorithmic bias, privacy concerns, and lack of teacher training could deepen existing disparities if unaddressed. It calls for systematic attention to ethical use, cultural responsiveness, professional learning for educators, and policies that safeguard equity as AI expands in schools globally.
3. New Report Highlights AI’s Promise and Risks in K–12 Schools
A major new white paper from Common Sense Media examines how generative AI tools are reshaping K–12 education and urges leaders around the world to act with both optimism and caution. The report finds that AI can support adaptive learning, creativity, project-based collaboration, teacher planning, and classroom feedback, but also flags significant challenges — including inaccurate outputs, bias and inequity, privacy and data security concerns, potential overreliance on technology, and loss of critical thinking skills if used without clear guidance. Importantly, it highlights the lack of widespread AI literacy and formal school policy, despite rapid adoption of AI tools by students and teachers. The paper calls for responsible integration frameworks, professional development for educators, and equity-focused policies so AI enhances learning outcomes while safeguarding ethical use and inclusion in classrooms everywhere.
Expert Mentor’s Corner
Dr. Pooja Bachani
Ph.D., CSIR-CSMCRI Bhavnagar | Manager, Project Delivery & Client Engagement, Global R-Hub
Beyond Writing: Teaching Gen Alpha to Think with AI
An eleven-year-old once asked me, “Why write when ChatGPT can?” What seems like defiance is really curiosity, a generation growing up with AI as a daily companion. Ignoring or banning it is unrealistic. Instead, education must teach students to think clearly, communicate intentionally, and make sound judgments while using AI.
Prompt engineering isn’t software skill, it’s structured thinking. Asking why, for whom, and to what end turns AI from a content machine into a thinking partner. I tell students: AI is a spaceship; prompts are its navigation system. Clear prompts spark purposeful discovery, while vague ones drift aimlessly.
I prefer to let students feel why writing matters. A simple AI writing task refined step-by-step by defining purpose, audience, and tone, shows how better thinking shapes better results. Without instruction, they realize that improved clarity improves outcomes.
Critiquing AI responses teaches discernment, checking facts, spotting gaps, and adjusting prompts nurtures inquiry and intellectual responsibility. AI literacy must also include ethics and creativity. AI generates; humans curate. When students combine its drafts with personal reflection or emotion, the result carries meaning only humans can bring.
Over time, students build “prompt libraries,” structured workflows for exploring ideas and summarizing research. My favourite activity, the Teach the Teacher challenge - requires them to use AI to explain something new in their own words.
Learning has never been about memorizing answers but thinking well. In the AI age, that matters more than ever.
Impact of Student Research
1. Lindenwood University Digital Art Students (USA, 2023)
In James Hutson’s Digital Art II-III course, 15 college students (ages 18-34) transitioned from rote sketching to thoughtful AI prompting using DALL-E2. They crafted 10 iterative prompts, refining ideas like “A cowboy riding a velociraptor” into “A cowboy riding a running velociraptor in the desert realistic digital painting front view.” This “prompt engineering” process taught explicitly led students to experiment with details, styles (e.g., photorealism), and subjects, enhancing ideation without replacing creativity. “The iterative process encouraged students to explore and experiment with their creative ideas, leading to a deeper understanding of the possibilities offered by AI tools,” the study notes. Students then recreated AI images in Photoshop, blending machine outputs with human curation and learned that precision, not repetition, drives originality.
2: Hong Kong EFL Secondary Students (2023)
Four top Form 1 EFL students (ages ~12-13, Gen Alpha) used ChatGPT/Sage to write blog entries, moving from rote auto-complete (“I woke up and,” AC prompt) to sophisticated prompting. Student D evolved: simple AC (“I was walking to the classroom at the first recess”) → AC+NLI+Q (“I was walking back to the classroom at the recess. Continue the story and answer this question: with whom did you do it with?”). Over 11 turns, they layered instructions, questions, and exemplars, systematically refining via trial-and-error. “The cases contribute evidence for the need to provide prompt engineering education...learning a greater variety of prompt content and more sophisticated prompts to support their writing,” researchers conclude. No prior chatbot experience; pathways showed growing metacognition from rote extension to purposeful inquiry.
Research Spotlight:
Global R-Hub Student Project!
E-Waste and the Circular Economy: A Comparative Analysis of South Asian and Western European Countries
Student: Siri | Mentor: Dr. Neharika Shrivastava, Ph.D. | Global Faculty: Dr. Shivendu S.
The rapid digitization of economies has accelerated the generation of electronic waste (e-waste) worldwide, with South Asia facing mounting challenges in sustainable management despite international sustainability frameworks. In contrast, Western European nations demonstrate higher collection and recycling rates, supported by robust circular economy policies. This study conducts a comparative quantitative analysis of e-waste generation, electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) placed on the market, and collection rates in selected South Asian countries from 2018 to 2022, using benchmarks from Western Europe. Secondary data from global and regional databases are analysed through descriptive statistics, time-series analysis, correlation, and regression models to examine relationships between GDP growth, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) scores, and e-waste indicators. Comparative tests, to evaluate performance disparities between the two regions. The study will propose actionable strategies for enhancing e-waste management and integrating circular economy principles, drawing on best practices from Western Europe to inform sustainable development pathways in the South Asian context.
Did you know?
1. Active learning beats passive writing
Students learn more when they actively grapple with ideas (asking questions, discussing, solving, explaining) instead of only listening or copying notes. A large meta-analysis found active learning improved exam performance and reduced failure rates compared with traditional lecturing. That’s the same reason “good prompting” works it forces the brain to do something with information, not just receive it.
Source: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1319030111
2. Self-testing (questioning yourself) builds longer lasting memory than re-reading
Research on “test enhanced learning” shows that trying to retrieve information (by answering questions from memory) improves later retention more than simply restudying. Interestingly, restudying can make learners feel more confident even when they remember less later. In the AI era, the habit to build is to ask, attempt, retrieve, then refine your prompt or answer.
Source: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x
3. A “learning-designed” AI tutor can beat regular ChatGPT on understanding
In two experiments, a GenAI tutor built to prompt students into sense-making (producing explanations and getting guided feedback) led to higher conceptual knowledge than using ChatGPT in a generic way. The takeaway for the AI era is simple: the win isn’t “using AI” it’s using AI to force your brain to explain and connect ideas.
Source: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-025-10039-x
Global R-Hub Updates
This month on The Mentor’s Corner, we bring you another insightful episode featuring Dr. Neharika Shrivastava in conversation with Dr. Ran (Alan) Zhang, Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University. The discussion explores how generative AI is transforming online reviews, user-generated content, and consumer trust on platforms like Amazon, Yelp, and TripAdvisor, and what this shift means for brands and consumers in an AI-driven world.
Watch the full episode to learn more.
Mentors & Global Faculties:
1. Dr. Mark Bender
Assistant Professor, University of Tampa & USF
Dr. Mark is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Tampa, specializing in digital marketing, online platforms, and pricing using game theory and economics. He’s a recognized researcher and award-winning teacher with a PhD in Marketing and Economics from the University of Pittsburgh.
2. Dr. Vikas Ramachandra
Principal AI/ML scientist, University of California San Diego, California, United State
Dr. Vikas has contributed to several healthcare start-ups as a cofounder and CTO, especially in cancer and COVID-19 diagnostics. His work has helped millions of patients over the years. He was also an Associate Professor and works on medical school academic research to use AI for healthcare. He has held leadership positions at multiple medical schools/hospitals.
Stay tuned for our next edition, where we introduce more powerhouse mentors
and global faculty shaping the future of research and innovation!
With every edition, we strive to bring you inspiring stories, impactful insights, and the latest updates from the world of research. Keep innovating, keep growing, and stay tuned for more exciting updates in our next edition!
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