On 6 June, the Hilton Shenzhen Shekou Nanhai was filled with distinguished guests – leading figures in international education and tech innovation from the Greater Bay Area gathered together to witness the successful global launch of the MIS AI Future Academy.
As the first academy in the region to deeply integrate British holistic education with an AI framework, its official launch is both a milestone after eight years of dedicated work by MIS in the Greater Bay Area and a new continuation of Shekou’s pioneering, innovative spirit in the age of AI.
Strong Results –
The Foundation for an AI Academy
Looking back, the 1979 blast at Shekou fired the starting gun for China’s reform and opening‑up. In 2018, Merchiston International School, with nearly 200 years of history, came to Shenzhen. Over eight years, it has built an academically excellent and warmly supportive British boarding education ecosystem, and a complete K12 British curriculum.
In the 2026 application season, MIS graduates achieved outstanding results: 186 offers from world‑leading universities, including both Oxford and Cambridge, with an admission rate of over 70% to G5 universities and Hong Kong’s top three institutions.
At the same time, in the 2026 HSBC · Forbes China International School Selection, MIS was ranked first among pure British international schools in Shenzhen and was named an “Outstanding School for Expatriate Children” – one of only two in the city. These figures and honours are not meant to prove “being the strongest”, but to show that MIS has been doing the right thing – enabling students to stand on the crest of the technological wave rather than be swept away by it. That is precisely why the school created the AI Future Academy.
From Music to Robotics – The Essence of Holistic Education
The launch event unfolded step by step around the school’s original educational purpose, moving from musical performances to expert speeches and awards, gradually revealing MIS’s AI education blueprint.
It opened with students performing “You Raise Me Up” and “Fly Me to The Moon” on piano and trumpet – the beautiful music gave a vivid picture of MIS’s authentic British holistic education.
△ Mr. Lyu Jianjun, founder of MIS, delivering a speech.
Mr. Lyu Jianjun, Chairman of the Times Lighthouse Group and founder of MIS, took the stage. Drawing on his eight years of experience and the pioneering spirit of Shekou, he introduced his original “Ten Forces” model of education. With vitality at the centre, and aspiration, heart and love as the foundation, six other comprehensive abilities develop together. He made clear that MIS’s AI education is not simply about coding; it is about nurturing a new generation of internationally minded young people who combine human warmth with the ability to master technology – with love as the foundation and AI as the enabler.
Then came a lively robotics show from Unitree, demonstrating the charm of AI through precise, elegant movements.
△ Mr. Benjamin Webster, Executive Head of MIS, announcing the launch of the AI Future Academy.
Soon after, Benjamin Webster, Executive Head of MIS and Dean of the AI Future Academy, officially announced the launch of the Academy. He explained that in addition to studying the core IGCSE and A-Level curriculum, students will have dedicated AI coaches, access to advanced AI courses, and opportunities to gain hands-on industry experience with leading AI companies across the Greater Bay Area. Drawing on the school’s 200‑year British heritage and educational resources, the Academy will open for Years 10‑13, with an initial intake limited to 60 students in small classes. Current MIS students have already won places on HKU’s highly selective AI programme (only 24 places worldwide) and received substantial scholarships – real data that proves the school’s strength.
Building an AI Education
Ecosystem with Partners
△ MIS presenting the Annual Outstanding Partner Awards to educational partners.
No school can succeed alone. At the event, MIS presented Annual Outstanding Partner awards to dozens of educational partners, forging deep links that connect classroom learning, innovation training and industrial practice – together building a new AI education ecosystem in the Greater Bay Area.
△ Mr. Yang Qiushi, CTO of MIS, speaking on stage.
Yang Qiushi, MIS’s Chief Technology Officer, then demonstrated the school’s in‑house Student Growth Big Data Platform and AIMIS Smart Education Hub. The platform uses big data to generate personalised student growth profiles, providing one‑stop academic diagnosis, risk alerts and individualised university planning.
The school has already planned six specialised AI classes (Pangu, Damo, Xinghuo, etc.), working with leading technology companies to deliver tiered innovation training programmes. Representatives from iFLYTEK and UBTECH also shared their perspectives on bringing AI into schools and co‑developing robotics courses.
Students and Parents:
Where Does AI Belong in Education?
△ Student representative Henry sharing his insights.
Henry, a student representative, gave a compelling English presentation on how he uses AI to help with coding. He offered three golden rules: never share personal information, understand the limits of the model you are using, and never let AI make major decisions for you.
△ Roundtable discussion session.
In a roundtable discussion, another student, Kaman, argued that “creativity, empathy and critical thinking are things AI can never replace.” Joseph, a parent, compared AI to nuclear energy: “Technology itself is neither good nor bad; it all depends on how we use and regulate it.”
A New Educational Paradigm –
Not Operators, but Creators
Unlike short‑term, skills‑driven AI training courses that are common in the market, the MIS AI Future Academy offers a distinctive education model: holistic education as the chassis, British academics as the foundation, AI as the tool, and an industry‑university ecosystem as the support. It follows a three‑stage pathway – foundation, interdisciplinary creation, and research sprint – with four types of mentors guiding students throughout.
The Turing Scholarship looks beyond exam scores to reward innovation and passion. The ultimate goal is clear: not to train AI operators, but to cultivate future creators.
From the first blast at Shekou to the breakthrough of AI education, MIS has delivered an answer to the age of intelligence through eight years of solid work.
The AI Future Academy is now open for enrolment. We remain committed to “Love & AI”, helping children develop empathy, judgement and creativity that AI can never replicate – so that they can stand firm and confident in a changing world. As the launch event’s theme declares: Accompanying Children into the Unknown – this is MIS’s enduring promise.
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