Building a new ecosystem for digital-intelligent teaching of veterinary infectious diseases in southwest Chinese universities: theoretical framework and practical pathways

Traditional veterinary infectious disease education faces inherent limitations, particularly in presenting abstract mechanisms, complex epidemiology, and high-risk scenarios. To address these challenges and meet the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)'s capacity building requirements, digital-intelligent teaching is driving a paradigm shift from "knowledge transmission" to "competency development." This study systematically constructs a clearly layered (macro-meso-micro) conceptual model for digital-intelligent teaching, hierarchically integrating pedagogical philosophy (macro), technological architecture (meso), and instructional implementation (micro). Specifically, at the macro level, it establishes the "AI-Enhanced Student-Led Tutorial Education" Teaching Model as a philosophical foundation to reshape the triadic interaction between teachers, students, and machines. The meso level centers on three technological cores-Knowledge Graph, AI, and Task Engines-which integrate to create personalized, immersive learning environments. Finally, at the micro level, the model implements a human-computer collaborative approach designed specifically to train clinical thinking skills. Furthermore, targeting the critical shortage of digitally-proficient faculty in Southwest China's border regions, the study proposes a "Cloud-Empowered Lightweight Adoption" model designed to lower technical thresholds. The feasibility of this approach in bridging infrastructural gaps and empowering regional talent cultivation was validated through a practical case study at Kunming University. This research establishes a novel pedagogical paradigm that not only guides the reform of veterinary infectious disease education in Western China but also offers a scalable model for institutions worldwide facing similar resource constraints, thereby contributing to the global advancement of veterinary capacity building.