l Guest Editors
Affiliation: Office of the Provost, Peking University, China
Email: sunhua@pku.edu.cn
Guest Editor 2: Dr. Ho Shen Yong
Affiliation: Institute for Pedagogical Innovation, Research & Excellence, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Email: HoSY@ntu.edu.sg
Guest Editor 3: Dr. Julia Chen
Affiliation: Educational Development Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China
Email: julia.chen@polyu.edu.hk
Guest Editor 4: Prof. Simon Walker
Affiliation: University College London, UK
Email: simon.walker@ucl.ac.uk
Executive Associate Guest Editor
Dr. Fei FENG, Peking University, China
l General Information
The global higher education landscape is being fundamentally reshaped by the latest technological and industrial revolutions. Frontier technologies, epitomized by generative AI, are not only accelerating the evolution of education toward “Future Classrooms” and “Future Schools” but have also elevated faculty development to the center of the global education governance agenda. Consequently, cultivating a future faculty workforce equipped with high-level digital and AI literacy, alongside global competence, has become a critical pillar for achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), bridging the global digital divide, and building robust national education systems.
Faculty roles are moving from traditional knowledge transmitters to connectors within global knowledge networks, designers of human-AI collaborative learning, and facilitators of cross-cultural exchange. This shift demands more than just the mastery of deep subject knowledge and technological tools; it requires faculty to uphold human-centric educational values in an algorithm-driven era. By fostering a new pedagogical dynamic characterized by the deep integration of “Faculty-Student-AI,” faculty can better support personalized student learning and the cultivation of higher-order thinking.
Simultaneously, addressing regional disparities and the unequal distribution of global educational resources remains an urgent priority for the international community. The solution lies in the co-creation and sharing of quality resources through the establishment of borderless faculty development communities, the mutual recognition of international standards, and the implementation of inclusive policy support systems.
This special issue seeks to converge diverse insights to explore the theoretical frameworks, practical pathways, and institutional innovations of future faculty development in the digital intelligence era from a global perspective. Our goal is to provide substantial support for building a global education ecosystem that is open, collaborative, and inclusive.
The main objective of this Special Issue is to bring together the new and innovative ideas, experiences and research results from researchers and practitioners on all aspects of Future Faculty Development.
Subject Coverage
We invite authors to submit original research to this special issue in the following potential topics. The topics will include, but will not be limited to:
l Faculty Competency Framework in the Era of Digital Intelligence
l Pedagogical Innovation and Faculty Role Transformation from the Perspective of Human–AI Collaboration
l Pathways, Mechanisms, and Support Systems for Future Faculty Professional Development
l Data-Driven Reform of Faculty Evaluation and the Application of E-Portfolios
l Technology-Enabled Regional Educational Equity and Collaborative Faculty Development
l Future Faculty Development and International Comparative Studies from a Global Perspective
l Fostering Ethical Literacy and Critical Thinking for Future faculty
Important Dates
l Manuscript submission open date: January 1st, 2026
l Manuscript submission deadline: May 31st, 2026
l Publication date: October 31st, 2026
Submission Instructions
Frontiers of Digital Education is an international academic journal, aiming at reflecting the dynamic trends in digital education policies, academic frontiers, and research hotspots from various countries. The journal explores key issues and challenges in digital education and technological innovation, establishing a distinctive platform for the dissemination and communication of significant achievements in digital education. This journal is dedicated to the contribution of the advancement of digital education.
The submission platform Editorial Manager® at https://www.editorialmanager.com/fode/ is now available for receiving submissions to this special issue. Please refer to the submission guidelines at https://www.springer.com/journal/44366/submission-guidelines to prepare your manuscript.
When submitting a manuscript via Editorial Manager®, under the Additional Information tab, “Are you submitting this manuscript to a Thematic Series?”, answer “Yes” and select the Thematic Series “Future Faculty Development”
All submissions deemed suitable to be sent for peer review will be reviewed by at least two independent reviewers. We sincerely invite you to submit your original work to this special issue and are looking forward to sharing your outstanding research outcomes with the peers around the world.
The submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. All papers are refereed through a peer review process. For more information, please visit http://link.springer.com/journal/44366.
Highlights of the Journal
l Peer review period: 1 month
l Publication: CAP, Hybrid (Subscription and OA)
l From acceptance to publication (currently): < 2 months
l Frequency of publication: Quarterly
l Fees: No page charges, no page limitation
Questions regarding the special issue
Please direct any questions regarding the special issue to Dr Fei FENG (fengfei@pku.edu.cn) or the editorial office (fde@hep.com.cn).