Competence day "AI at the university: skills, responsibility and critical choices"

On 29 September from 11:00–17:30, the university library’s conference hall will host the competence day “Artificial intelligence at the university: skills, responsibility and critical choices”, to which the entire university community is warmly invited. The event is organised by the University of Tartu Centre for Teaching and Learning.

The use of artificial intelligence at the university is growing faster than we can agree on what to do with it. The aim of the competence day is to raise awareness of the possibilities and effects of artificial intelligence, and to give every participant something tangible to take away – a new skill, a tool, or a clearer sense of what to do next in their own subject or role. The day is suited to both those who are still only considering using artificial intelligence and those who wish to put their existing practice on a more informed footing.

The day opens with a video address from Rector Toomas Asser, followed by a panel discussion in English on which competences the university must develop in the age of artificial intelligence. The panellists are Tanel Tammet, Professor of Applied Artificial Intelligence at Tallinn University of Technology; Emanuele Bardone, Professor of Educational Technology and Head of the Centre for Educational Technology at the University of Tartu; and, from Ghent University, Professor of Law Bertel De Groote and Associate Professor Evelien Opdecam. A representative from the Department of Digital Government of the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs will bring the perspective of wider societal expectations to the discussion.

After the lunch break, practical workshops will run in two sessions: six parallel workshops in the first session and five in the second. Among other things, the workshops will cover advanced techniques for using Gemini Notebook, building a simple web application with artificial intelligence tools, the didactic framework developed by the FLAIR project for fostering AI literacy, the possibilities of artificial intelligence in Moodle, the use of artificial intelligence to support learning, and data visualisation with the help of artificial intelligence. Both data visualisation workshops and one of the FLAIR workshops will be held in English. Workshops are chosen at the time of registration.

The day closes with a panel discussion in Estonian on the environmental impact of artificial intelligence, with Meelis Kull, Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Tartu and Head of the Estonian Centre of Excellence in AI; Hedi Peterson, Professor of Bioinformatics and Head of the ELIXIR Estonia; Piia Post, Professor of Climate Science; Maie Kiisel, expert at the University of Tartu Centre for Sustainable Development and Analyst at the Centre for Applied Social Sciences; and Triinu Jairus, Junior Research Fellow in Geology. The discussion will focus on the environmental footprint of using artificial intelligence and on the informed choices to be made when applying it in the university’s everyday work.

Registration is open until 24 September at https://survey.ut.ee/padevuspaev. Please also select your workshops when registering.