Future Faculty Development in the Age of AI: University Teachers’ Roles, Needs, and Institutional Support

Abstract AI is reshaping higher education in ways that extend beyond the adoption of new tools, challenging established assumptions about assessment, curriculum, ethics, graduate preparation, and the work of university teachers. Drawing on insights from the Teacher Panel at the International Conference on GenAI and Pedagogical Innovations held in Hong Kong in May 2026, this commentary argues that faculty development in the AI era must move beyond generic technology training towards a more role-based, discipline-sensitive, future-oriented, and ecosystemic approach. The commentary identifies four key insights from the panel discussion: AI use is already widespread and assessment has become an immediate pressure point; AI literacy is necessary but insufficient without disciplinary, professional, ethical, and human-centred dimensions; universities must connect learning more explicitly with the authentic world beyond campus while renewing the role of the campus as a site of experimentation and futures literacy; and institutions need stronger capacity for evidence-informed, forward-looking AI governance. Building on these insights, the commentary proposes seven emerging roles for university teachers: human-centred educator; disciplinary and professional expert; learning architect and intellectual guide; assessment (re)designer; technically competent and critically informed professional; ethical steward; and educational experimenter and evidence-based practitioner. Corresponding faculty development needs are then discussed, including support for human-centred education, curriculum renewal, world-connected learning, assessment redesign, technical-pedagogical AI capability, ethical stewardship, AI policy literacy, and scholarship-informed educational improvement. The commentary concludes with a preliminary role-based framework for faculty development. It emphasises that these roles need not be performed by a single individual teacher. Rather, as educational design and delivery become more complex in the age of AI, university education should increasingly be understood as a collective endeavour involving academic staff, educational developers, technology specialists, professional staff, students, external partners, employers, and community organisations.