Crestron Education Summit explores the future of intelligent learning spaces

• Features

• 18/09/2026

The transformation of higher education has accelerated dramatically. Universities face mounting pressure to create more flexible, responsive learning environments while managing the operational complexity of hybrid delivery, remote participation, and diverse learning modalities.

Technology remains a crucial enabler, but only if the end result is simplified and the user experience is seamless. When classroom systems demand multiple steps just to start a lesson, when professors must navigate complex control panels before delivering content, and when infrastructure fails to adapt to different teaching approaches, technology starts impeding education.

This was the central topic of discussion threading through the Crestron Education Summit 2026, held in Hong Kong. The event convened more than 100 delegates comprising educators, IT directors, facility managers, and technology leaders to explore how institutions can finally make classroom technology genuinely invisible.

The exploration opened with Dr. Lee Jian Xin from Surbana Jurong, a principal consultant with more than 15 years of experience digital transformation and smart buildings. His presentation, ‘Building the Smart Campus: Integrating AV, IT, and Building Technologies’, walked delegates through the evolution from passive to intelligent infrastructure.

Drawing on the firm’s own SJ Campus in Singapore — a 69,000 sq m development spanning 10 buildings — Dr. Lee showed how integrating data collection at the planning stage enables optimisation throughout a building's lifecycle. The key insight was that institutions must think strategically about infrastructure before deployment. As he noted, the challenge is shifting from “how do we build this” to “how do we manage all this data, and what can we do with it”.

A critical moment came during the following first panel discussion, titled ‘The User Experience Challenge: Making Classroom Technology Invisible’. Moderated by Wayne Cheung, VP for Crestron Asia, the panel brought together Prashant Sarabha, executive engineer at IIT Bombay; Raymond Chow, senior manager for AV technology at HKUST; and Dr. Katherine Lee, research manager for the AI in Education Lab at the University of Hong Kong.

The panellists made clear that technology invisibility demands standardisation. Raymond Chow explained: “All classrooms have the same control system user interface, the same desktop, same arrangement. We do a lot of remote monitoring so that when help is needed, we can know what is happening in the classroom to minimise downtime.”

Sarabha echoed this: “Technology invisibility means that it should be applicable for all scenarios. It has to be easy to interface with the system so teachers can focus on their teaching and guide the students, not on figuring out the technology.”

Expanding the conversation, Dr. Katherine Lee introduced a vital pedagogical dimension. She said: “Space should support what I set out to do. If I want discussion, the space should support discussion. If I want presentations, it should support that.”

Dr. Katherine Lee emphasised that learning outcomes must drive design — not the other way around. The real measure of success, she argued, is not what gets installed but whether students actually achieve the intended learning outcomes. That insight reframed the entire conversation.

Mavis Leung, technical sales manager for Asia, Crestron, presented a concrete vision of what that looks in practice. Today’s classroom, she explained, often requires 8 to 10 manual steps before teaching can begin. With intelligent automation, a professor can simply connect their laptop and select ‘Start Class’ and be off to begin the lesson. The system, if designed smartly, automatically initiates cameras, recording, videoconferencing connections, and even selects the appropriate layouts for presentation.

Leung said: “The room understands the user needs and teaching purpose and reacts automatically.” She also demonstrated how technology can enhance hybrid learning through advanced camera systems that track instructors as they move, ensuring remote participants remain engaged even during interactive demonstrations—a particular challenge in labs and technical disciplines.

The second panel, ‘From Smart to Human: Rethinking AI-Ready Campus Infrastructure’, shifted focus to artificial intelligence. Panellists Jerome Lo from NTU Singapore, Samuel Kwan, chief information officer at HKUST, and Dr. Lee from Surbana Jurong explored how institutions can prepare infrastructure for AI without losing sight of human-centred education.

A phrase emerged from the discussion as a throughline: “AI Intelligence plus Human Intelligence equals Actionable Intelligence”. The message was clear—AI is not about replacing educators but augmenting their capabilities and helping institutions operate more efficiently.

Puneet from Crestron then showcased how AI and AV are merging into an operational reality. Through tools like MCP (Model Context Protocol), AI agents, and proactive monitoring via XIO Cloud, campuses can now predict and resolve technical issues before they disrupt learning. When a system detects an anomaly, the facility team knows immediately, can diagnose remotely, and can often resolve the issue before users even notice a problem.

Professor Cecilia Chan from the University of Hong Kong, a globally recognised authority in AI and education, graced the event with her insights. Her message was unambiguous: AI should elevate learning, not replace it. She cautioned against viewing technology as a solution unto itself.

She explained: “What we need to focus on, is how technology supports critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration—the skills students will need in an AI-powered world.” She emphasised that assessment must now focus on process, not just final product. When students can offload writing to AI, educators must ask different questions: Are students engaging critically? Are they thinking deeply? This shift, while challenging, is essential.

Technology specialists often find themselves in a situation where they are ‘fixing the plane while it’s flying’. The task of building AI-ready infrastructure even as educators and technologists are still learning what those capabilities should be is very similar. The Crestron Education Summit offered a level of clarity about how to approach this unique challenge.

Success in higher education technology is no longer measured by the sophistication of the technology that gets installed but by whether it disappears from view. When a professor walks into a classroom and teaching and learning should simply happen and this should be supported seamlessly by infrastructure that anticipates needs, adapts to purpose, and stays out of the way.

As the Crestron Education Summit showcased, this vision is no longer theoretical. It is being built today, across Asia’s leading institutions, informed by educators who know what they need and technologists who have learned to listen.

Wayne Cheung, VP for Crestron, Greater China, Korea, and Southeast Asia, shared his final thoughts regarding the event: “Crestron is proud to host this Education Summit in Hong Kong, with the support of so many industry leaders and educators who share a common vision: to harness technology to transform the way we teach, learn and collaborate. Crestron will continue to play a crucial role in building intelligent learning environments; helping turn this shared vision into reality.”