CHUYỂN ĐỔI SƯ PHẠM VÀ QUẢN TRỊ THỂ CHẾ DỰA TRÊN TRÍ TUỆ NHÂN TẠO TẠI CÁC TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC TƯ THỤC CỦA VIỆT NAM: HƯỚNG TỚI HỆ SINH THÁI GIÁO DỤC ĐẠI HỌC SỐ BỀN VỮNG

In the era of artificial intelligence (AI), higher education institutions face not only pedagogical innovation demands but also profound institutional restructuring to adapt to digitalization, global competition, and sustainability imperatives. Yet, existing scholarship largely conceptualizes AI as an instructional enhancement tool, lacking an integrative framework that connects technological capability, institutional governance, and long-term sustainability at the ecosystem level. This study develops and empirically validates an integrated AI–Governance–Sustainability model within Vietnamese private universities—an increasingly dynamic yet financially autonomous and competitive sector. The theoretical framework is grounded in dynamic capabilities theory (Teece, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2785), digital university governance literature, and global AI ethics principles articulated by UNESCO (2021, https:// unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000380455). The proposed structural model comprises five constructs: (1)AI infrastructure capability; (2)Data governance and AI ethics;(3)Digital leadership competency;(4)Pedagogical innovation capacity;(5)Sustainable institutional performance, encompassing academic, financial, and societal dimensions. An explanatory sequential mixedmethods design is employed, integrating largescale quantitative surveys analyzed via Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with in-depth qualitative interviews to validate causal mechanisms and contextual influences. Findings are expected to demonstrate that AI capability exerts both direct and indirect effects on pedagogical innovation and sustainable performance, while ethical governance moderates these relationships by ensuring transparency, fairness, and accountability. Digital leadership emerges as a strategic mediating construct bridging technological infrastructure and organizational transformation. The model achieves robust fit indices (CFI and TLI > 0.90; RMSEA < 0.08), confirming theoretical coherence and empirical rigor. This study advances international discourse by reframing university governance as an AIintegrated digital ecosystem, proposing measurable KPI frameworks for transformation assessment, and outlining a three-phase policy roadmap. Ultimately, it positions Vietnamese private universities as strategic laboratories for sustainable AI-enabled higher education in the global knowledge economy. The results show that the capacity for AI integration has a positive and statistically significant impact on innovation in teaching methods, enhancing learning quality, improving governance efficiency, personalizing learning, data-driven decisionmaking, and organizational governance effectiveness. Strategic digital governance is confirmed as a key intermediary mechanism ensuring institutional adaptability and sustainable development. Theoretically, the research integrates and develops an AI-based governance framework, thereby expanding the academic discourse on university transformation in the context of digital transformation. Practically, the research provides policy and strategic implications for university leaders, policymakers, and education investors in designing comprehensive AI strategies that ensure quality, equity, and sustainable development. The research is significant not only for Vietnam but also contributes to regional and international discourse on building an inclusive, adaptable, and sustainable digital higher education ecosystem in the AI era.