Erasmus+ National Seminar on Embedding Artificial Intelligence in Education

The National Erasmus+ Office in Moldova, in cooperation with the EU Delegation to the Republic of Moldova and the Ministry of Education and Research, organised on March 14 - 15, 2024, at the Technical University of Moldova, the seminar for higher education institutions with the generic title "Embracing Artificial Intelligence in Education: New Programs, Disciplines, and Methods".

The Technical Assistance Mission seminar was organized with the support of Higher Education Reform Experts (HERE) in Moldova, namely by Dr. Dumitru Ciorbă, dean of The Faculty of Computers, Informatics and Microelectronics at the Technical University of Moldova. It should be noted that the Higher Education Reform Experts in Moldova work under the Erasmus+ Programme, with the support of the SPHERE Consortium. It includes experts from the European University Association (EUA), that involves more than 800 universities from the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), as well as 33 national rectors councils.

Expert within the seminar "Embracing Artificial Intelligence in Education: New Programs, Disciplines, and Methods" was Dr. Diana Andone, director of the e-Learning Center at the Politehnica University of Timișoara, Romania, responsible for planning and implementing digital education and associate professor in multimedia, interactive and web technologies, member of the Steering Committee for Digital Transformation of the Association of European Universities.

Generative AI holds immense potential and dangers to transform education, revolutionising the way we educate, learn, and engage with knowledge. The transformation brought by Generative AI into higher education has driven educators to rethink and adjust methods of teaching and evaluation, as well as to acquire new skills and adapt to an evolving digital ecosystem. What skills will be expected from educators and students in the future? How can generative AI be used creatively by educators and students? How can Generative AI enhance the creativity and critical thinking of both students and educators or to be included into curriculum? How open education and science practices are changed by Generative AI? Several experiments which showcase the integration of the use of Generative AI into project development and assessment on different subjects in education and research were presented from both educators’ and students’ perspectives. Additionally, the talk has critically examined the ethical considerations and security implications of embedding Generative AI tools within the academic framework. Participants have also practiced how to integrate Generative AI Technologies in education and discussed different methods of AI-driven teaching and learning during hands-on sessions.

The seminar brought together over 80 representatives of higher education institutions from Moldova, IT companies, the Ministry of Education and Research, EU Delegation, as well as the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Education and Research.

During the period of 2015-2024, the National Erasmus+ Office in Moldova together with SPHERE consortium organized 13 Technical Assistance Mission seminars, together with international experts in various fields related to the modernisation and internationalisation of higher education.