According to the financial news app Zhitong Caijing, International Data Corporation (IDC) recently released a series of research reports on China's smart education, showing that in 2023, the market size of China's smart education solutions was 59.95 billion RMB. In terms of market structure, the overall market exhibits diversified characteristics, with a large number of smart education solution providers, active participation from new entrants, and intense market competition. The various submarkets of smart education are relatively independent, and there is also a certain level of independence among manufacturers.

In the segmented market of smart campus solutions, iFLYTEK Co., Ltd. (002230.SZ), Zhengyuan Zhihui Group (300645.SZ), and Neusoft Corporation are among the top three. In the smart learning machine submarket, manufacturers are introducing feature-rich smart learning machine products to meet the needs of students of different ages and learning requirements. iFLYTEK Co., Ltd., BBK Electronics, and Squirrel AI have a significant advantage in this field. In the smart education interactive tablet submarket, HiTA, HiteVision Co., Ltd., and Edifier Electronics occupy the main market share.

IDC believes that ai plays a huge role and advantage in education. For example, GenAI can help teachers and curriculum developers create course materials, course plans, teaching outlines, and lesson plans, which can be used to create personalized learning materials. It can also be involved in students' independent learning, providing timely interventions or support suggestions. In terms of academic research, GenAI can support researchers by accelerating literature organization and data analysis. It can also generate insights by identifying patterns, trends, and relationships in complex data that may be difficult for humans to recognize. At the same time, GenAI can provide personalized guidance on common issues within the admissions process such as admission applications, requirements, scholarships, assisting students throughout the enrollment and registration process.

The Future Development Trends of AI in Education in China

AI Practice in Educational Institutions

While many educational institutions have been experimenting with ai, most are still in the early planning and strategic investment stages, especially in building their own ai capabilities. In the future, educational institutions will gradually establish basic ai capabilities, while also planning, formulating, and piloting ai initiatives.

Accelerating Research Applications in Cloud Computing

As cloud technology continues to mature and become more popular, educational institutions are using cloud computing solutions to provide powerful computing and storage capabilities. Cloud computing has also achieved significant results in the field of distance education.

SIS on Cloud

Migrating to the cloud through SIS effectively reduces high maintenance costs, allowing higher education institutions to invest more resources into improving teaching quality and fostering research innovation. With the continuous advancement of technology, cloud service providers will continuously update and iterate systems, enhance cloud-based AI capabilities, and drive improvements in functionality, performance, and intelligence.

Support for generative AI in LMS.

Vendors actively adjust and optimize their own solutions to help educational institutions adapt to evolving learning environments and teaching methodologies, aiming to provide learners with more advanced, efficient online and digital learning experiences. In the future, education administrators will actively embrace LMS platforms embedded with generative AI to reshape teaching and learning methods.

Cybersecurity issues for educational institutions.

To effectively defend against potential cybersecurity threats, educational institutions need to continuously increase their investment in the field of cybersecurity. This includes reinforcing basic firewall protections, deploying intrusion detection systems, and leveraging advanced data encryption technologies to establish a multi-layered defense system.

Content moderation and quality standards in digital education.

The intelligent and efficient application of AI technology for content moderation in teaching has become an urgent need and important direction for market development.

Kanae Kin, IDC's Industry Research Manager in China, stated that driven by policy and AI technology, the AI + education market is experiencing unprecedented transformations. The education market will increasingly focus on the deep integration and innovative application of technology, promoting the personalization of educational content, the intelligent transformation of teaching methods, and the continuous enhancement of learning experiences. AI technology is widely permeating the education industry, opening up new market opportunities in the education sector. Technology providers should actively respond to market demands, enhance their competitiveness through technological innovation, ecosystem partnerships, and tapping into industry needs to drive the development of smart education.