Príprava budúcich IT profesionálov pre oblasť umelej inteligencie

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the fastest-growing fields, requiring experts with the ability to discover new approaches. Educational institutions play a key role in preparing future experts and must address the media-driven mystification of AI and the challenges of the field, which discourage many students from pursuing this career. The project enabled universities to review their educational content, gain international feedback, and implement best practices in AI teaching. Creating the background for preparing students also supported research of AI and allowed project participants to collaborate on solving issues arising from the AI implementation. Activities in AI contributed to building the prestige of partners, increasing their chances of attracting more and higher-quality students in the future. SME partners gained valuable experience in AI, providing them with a competitive advantage for the development of their activities. The project addressed students' needs by providing knowledge and practical skills tailored to their learning habits. Completing the courses gives students an overview of AI and the skills needed for related careers and also the ability to make informed decisions about their professional futures.

The project aims to implement and test an educational model designed to equip future AI professionals with specialized skills and competencies. A parallel goal is to increase interest among IT students in careers in AI, which is still insufficient given the complexity of the area. Additionally, the project focuses on advancing knowledge for the effective deployment of AI solutions. These efforts will enhance higher education, ensuring that young people gain advanced digital skills and broader employment prospects. The project prioritized digital preparedness by utilizing AI as both a subject of mastery and a tool for innovative, effective education. It will provide high-quality learning resources in a self-created, user-friendly online environment tailored for AI education, with a strong commitment to privacy and ethical standards. The inclusive virtual platform accommodates disabled users, supports repeated learning, and encourages educators to achieve specific milestones. Furthermore, the educational content is freely available online, eliminating cultural, social, and economic barriers to learning.

The main output of the project is an educational model designed to develop highly specialized skills within IT university study programs. This model aims to increase IT students’ interest in AI by providing educational content to increase the level of specialized knowledge and skills, while building their habits in the professional and lifelong learning. The model integrates the methodologies and experiences of the consortium through the creation of 11 courses focused on AI in three basic categories: AI prerequisites, AI fundamentals (data preparation, knowledge discovery, machine learning) and AI application areas (natural language processing, learning analytics, cybersecurity). These courses are implemented on the Priscilla educational platform, which supports interactivity and learning in line with the behavior and expectations of the current generation of students. Newly developed modules for the Priscilla platform focused on AI courses provide immediate feedback and support for student projects in the AI. Educational data is collected to understand student behavior and is a source for identifying student habits, content and learning problems. The procedures and methodologies used are published in indexed scientific journals.