Background

The project AI.4.educators was conceived to shed light on the technological advancements on AI and its incorporation in modern life in various forms and applications. Our motivation for developing such project lies on three important pillars:

  1. AI and the need for constant update:
    AI has developed many new techniques and applications the past years that an ongoing update to keep up the pace of the developments is needed. This project, focusing on educators, has captured the need for constant and lifelong learning on AI
  2. Holistic approach on AI:
    AI has a multifaceted character, which can be seen as a new technology based on algorithms, mathematic models, and engineering, but can be seen also as an area of new regulation which raises serious ethical concerns. The project sheds light on the ongoing discussions for regulation and incorporation of ethical values in AI systems, so that AI is treated in a holistic way by educators.
  3. Need for digital education:The increased need for digital education became quite apparent during 2020. Because of COVID-19 outbreak, most of the countries were urged to follow a digital scheme of education without adequate preparation. The project supports the use of innovative methods, interaction techniques and digital tools for teaching AI either in a classroom environment or through remote teaching.

Objectives

The project aims to achieve the following objectives:

  • Strengthening the engagement of educators with AI field, by pursuing a multidisciplinary and holistic approach. To this end, we focus on the technological aspects of AI, but also on the European regulatory initiatives and on the ethical values which should be embedded in AI systems.

  • Cultivating a Eurocentric approach on AI for encouraging educators to consider the European values and the fundamental human rights with regards to AI systems.

  • Developing a high-quality educational curriculum for educators by combining different methods of education, including theoretical and practical techniques, audio-visual material, problem-based learning, case studies and examples of real AI applications.

  • Adopting personalization and interaction tools, for detecting the training needs of educators on AI and making the necessary adjustments to the educational program.

  • Enhancing educators’ digital skills and encouragement to use digital training tools.

  • Creating an online AI academy providing a number of e-courses to educators based on the AI training material developed during the project.

Activities

During the project’s funded period, three activities will be implemented leading to the achievement of the project objectives and the production of the project outcomes:

  • A1: Digital Platform of the Project & Digital Survey for Detecting Training Needs of Educators on AI
    Partner responsible: P3-KONNEKTABLE
  • A2: AI Training Material including (i) a Practical, (ii) a Legal, and (iii) an Ethical AI Roadmap
    Partner responsible: P1-MD BRAINNOVATION
  • A3: AI educational program including e-courses
    Partner responsible: P2-DOUMAG

Target Groups

The project wants to address the following target groups:

Direct:

  • Adult educators who may have or may have little experience in the AI field.
  • Educators of adult training centres
  • Educators of vocational training centres
  • Trainers of companies’ employees
  • Counsellors of educational orientation

Indirect:

  • Students of adult/vocational training centres who wish to enhance their skills
  • Companies’ employees who take part in training seminars