Abstract: As one of China’s inaugural national first-class offline undergraduate courses, microbiology at Yunnan Agricultural University has adopted a learner-centered pedagogical approach supported by a five-dimensional shared curriculum system, integrating online, offline, hybrid online-offline, virtual simulation, and social practice components. With the deepening of educational reforms, the curriculum and teaching process now faced systemic challenges, including fragmented resources, isolated resource silos, excessive teaching procedures, and persistent difficulties in implementing innovative practices. In response to the disruptive emergence of AI technologies, the research team has systematically investigated pathways for digital intelligence-enabled course transformation. The proposed framework incorporates four strategic components such as an integrated AI-enhanced smart curriculum architecture, virtual teaching-research sharing platform, a large language model-based virtual teaching assistant, and iterative and superior virtual simulation resource integration. Empirical evidence indicated that this paradigm not only facilitated comprehensive digital transition but also established a scalable model for intelligent transformation in higher education.

Key words: microbiology; digital transformation, digital intelligence empowerment, AI intelligent course, virtual teaching and research office