3 takeaways from STC’s student symposium on AI

In November 2025, Schools That Can hosted its first-ever Students That Connect Symposium: Exploring AI. Over 70 students were joined by an expert keynote speaker and partners to dive into the impact of AI on work and learning. 

There’s no question students, and how they experience work, education, and life, are being affected by the rapid rise of artificial intelligence. In a spring 2025 focus group, a high school student told Schools That Can “it's becoming more prominent in our lives. Instead of something that's rare, it is becoming more of an everyday thing.” Another student echoed that, explaining: “I think AI has kind of always been around, but I definitely think now it's more prominent due to our technology developing. I think we have to be careful about how we use it now, especially since it's so accessible.”

Other research backs them up: a survey of students in grades 6 through 12 found that while two-thirds of students think using AI in the classroom could improve their educational experience, their top fears about AI include the spread of misinformation and how it could be used to harm people. Similarly, work from the think tank The Milken Institute discussed the need for K-12 institutions to address AI literacy along with critical thinking skills. 

Here are top 3 takeaways from STC’s student AI symposium: 

1. Students are eager to discuss the nuances surrounding AI.

In a post-event survey, the majority of students recorded responses that spoke to the nuance around AI usage: "I learned that [AI] has endless possibilities and limitations. [And] has positives and negatives depending on who uses it and how it's used." 

During the debate portion of the event, students were assigned to teams to argue the pros and cons of AI for industries including healthcare, education, media, and the environment. Drawing on research supporting their respective sides, students were curious to learn more about AI’s potential benefits and pitfalls. 

2. Students want hands-on experiences that put skills into practice. 

The culminating activity of the day was a hands-on design challenge presented by Playlab AI, where students used the technology to design apps solving a challenge facing their communities. Learning to use the technology helped students to put skills and ideas into practice. “I learned about how to make an AI tool that can help people with their basic needs such as math and history,” one student reported. “I also learned about the pros and cons of AI.” Another mentioned learning about differences between classification AI, predicative AI, and generative AI, and mentioned thinking about what human skills AI couldn’t capture.

Throughout the day, students also had to use durable skills to work in teams for discussion and debate. The majority of students surveyed said they practiced public speaking, collaboration, and research skills throughout the day. It highlighted the importance of creating space for students to get engaged through hands-on learning.

3. Student voice matters.

Central to the day were student perspectives: Student observations from STC’s focus group were compiled into a printed booklet students took notes in. Student problems and solutions were the core of the design challenge. Students responded to prompts via post-it notes about how they used AI, if at all.

Supporting students in building their futures also means centering their present experiences: the questions they have, ideas they want to pursue, skills they need to develop. Throughout the day, student voice became not just a way to engage young people, but to ensure their perspectives were centered.