TUJ Deepens Partnership With India; President Wilson Highlights Four Intelligences for AI

TUJ President and Dean Matthew Wilson (center) speaks during a panel discussion involving top university leaders at the India-Japan Higher Education Forum in Tokyo.

Temple University Japan (TUJ) strengthened its growing partnership with India’s O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) this summer by hosting nearly 40 students to its new Kyoto location this summer while also taking center stage in a high-profile international forum examining how artificial intelligence is reshaping higher education.

The visit marked TUJ’s second custom summer program for JGU, one of India’s leading private universities. Centered on Asian business in Japan, the program combined classroom learning with cultural immersion and academic exchange.

As part of the program, TUJ President and Dean Matthew Wilson spearheaded the Kyoto Colloquium Distinguished Lecture on June 24 alongside JGU Founding Vice Chancellor C. Raj Kumar and former Hawaii Supreme Court Justice Michael Wilson. Speaking on the theme, “Universities as Custodians of Universal Values: Building a More Connected and Compassionate World,” the panel explored how universities must prepare students through research, critical thinking, ethical leadership, problem-solving, cross-border interactions and practical skills in an increasingly interconnected world.

International Forum with Top Government and Academic Leaders

The collaboration culminated on July 1 at the J.W. Marriott in Tokyo with a major international forum titled “Shaping Universities of the Future in the Era of Human and Artificial Intelligence.” The event brought together top policymakers, educators, and students from Japan and India to share insights about how AI is transforming higher education and society.

The forum featured influential speakers including former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, former House of Representatives Vice Speaker Seishiro Eto, renowned Indian parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor, and higher education leaders from Japan, India and the United States.

Wilson spoke as part of a panel discussion featuring university presidents and top leaders from JGU, the University of Tokyo, Waseda University, International Christian University, Musashi University, and Sophia University.

Responding to a question from moderator Kumar during the July 1 panel discussion about how universities can maintain academic integrity in the age of AI, Wilson emphasized that the human element of education remains indispensable and is essential to helping students develop practical skills.

Wilson illustrated his point by describing a concept he introduced to students during the special summer program in Kyoto. While artificial intelligence will continue to reshape teaching and learning, we are in an era of intelligence pluralism that includes “different I’s” – Artificial Intelligence (AI), Real Intelligence (RI), Global Intelligence (GI) and Practical Intelligence (PI).

Discussing RI, Wilson said students must learn how to critically evaluate and verify information generated by AI. “It is not the university’s job to simply convey information, but to generate information and help students figure out what the truth is,” he said, adding that universities need to focus on key skills including intelligence formation, research literacy, and truth-finding.

Speaking about GI, Wilson told the audience of several hundred people, including JGU students and members of the academic community, that universities must teach students how to negotiate, solve problems, and communicate effectively across borders. Beyond AI, universities like TUJ can foster learning to interpret the world through multiple lenses.

To conclude, Wilson emphasized that universities need to focus their efforts on PI that develops the problem-solving skills, judgment, creativity and ethical reasoning that technology cannot replace. This involves developing better ways to foster skills development and assess student learning. Traditional assessment methods, such as written examinations alone, are insufficient for developing these skills, he said. “The challenge that we have, as educators, is constructing and devising educational methodologies that help you learn, that help you grow, that help you learn to solve problems,” Wilson said.

At the conclusion of the event, Wilson presented certificates to the 38 JGU students who completed TUJ’s special summer program, underscoring the university’s growing academic partnership with one of India’s premier institutions.

Temple Japan formed a partnership with JGU, one of India’s leading private universities, in 2024 and launched its first custom summer program for JGU students in June and July 2025. The program focuses on Asia’s economic and political evolution as the context for Japan’s historical development strategies and how those strategies continue to shape the country’s business, management and policy environment. TUJ designed the curriculum to provide JGU students with a well-rounded understanding of Japan’s socioeconomic landscape while fostering an appreciation for cultural and national differences across Asia.

In addition to JGU, TUJ has established collaborations with the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology in India and Universidad Anáhuac Mayab in Mexico. In Japan, TUJ has partnerships with Meiji University, Showa Women’s University and Musashi University. In November 2024, TUJ signed a memorandum of understanding with Kyoto-based Ryukoku University to support student exchanges, the joint use of facilities, cultural activities and broader educational collaboration.