Laurie Pearcey
Advisor to the President & College Master, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen
Laurie Pearcey is Advisor to the President and Master of Shaw at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen). Prior to his appointment in Shenzhen, Laurie was Associate Vice-President (External Engagement & Outreach) at The Chinese University of Hong Kong where he was responsible for expanding CUHK’s external reputation and profile with media, public policy makers, industry partners, future students and alumni locally, nationally and overseas. Prior to his appointment at CUHK in 2021, Laurie was Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) and served as Chief Executive Officer of Australia’s oldest pathways education provider, UNSW Global Pty Ltd.
As Pro Vice-Chancellor (International), Laurie was responsible for recruiting more than 10,000 international undergraduate and postgraduate students annually, championing partnerships with universities and securing contract research funding from government and industry around the world. As Chief Executive Officer of UNSW Global Pty Ltd, Laurie led a $AU150 million business comprised of 600 staff and ran a portfolio of Foundation Studies, University Diplomas and English language programs reaching over 2,000 students a year in Australia and over a dozen branch campuses in China and Southeast Asia. Before joining higher education, he was Chief Executive Officer of the Australia China Business Council.
Laurie is a Scholar of the Order of Australia Association Foundation, a former Member of the Group of Eight Universities’ International Strategy Group, and a former Executive Committee Member of the Universities Alliance of the Silk Road. Laurie chaired the Board of the Confucius Institute at UNSW Sydney between 2017 and 2021. He was a Visiting Fellow in Pacific and Asian History at the Australian National University, a Board Member of the Australia India Institute, and was an Exchange Scholar in the School of Social Sciences at Tsinghua University, Beijing. Laurie is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.
Back to Basics: Reimagining the Student Experience for the AI Era
In an age where artificial intelligence places near-instant expertise in every student’s pocket, universities risk becoming distributors of a commodity they no longer control: knowledge. This session challenges a prevailing assumption at the heart of higher education—that technical mastery remains our primary value proposition. Instead, it argues that what will distinguish institutions in the AI era is not what students know, but who they become.
Re-centering the student experience around residential colleges and co-curricular life, the presentation explores how universities can deliberately cultivate discomfort, belonging, resilience, and moral judgment. These are not “add-ons” but the core of future readiness. Through lived examples, it shows how shared experiences, peer accountability, and community life forge capabilities no algorithm can replicate.
If AI owns content, universities must own character. This session reframes “back to basics” as a necessary provocation: without heart and soul, higher education risks irrelevance.