Day of Teaching - November 22nd, 2023

The keynote addresses the increasingly present topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its application in higher education. It begins with a definition of AI and provides a brief overview of its historical development and influences in education, from its beginnings in the form of tutoring systems to complex AI systems such as ChatGPT. Furthermore, typologies and variants of AI in education are presented, showing that there are many other fields of application besides currently much discussed AI-based chatbots. Subsequently, concrete application examples from research and practice are presented to show the range of possibilities that AI technologies can offer for teachers and learners. In the concluding remarks, selected opportunities, risks and conditions for success of the use of AI in education are highlighted. In particular, ethical aspects, data protection and the importance of human interaction in education are addressed. 

Prof. Dr. Niels Pinkwart
Since 2013 he has held the chair of "Didactics of Computer Science / Computer Science and Society" at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. His research interests lie at the intersection of digitalisation, education and societal/organisational change. He has been Vice President for Teaching and Studies at HU Berlin since October 2021. In addition to his work at HU Berlin, he is active as scientific director of the Educational Technology Lab at DFKI Berlin. Within the German Informatics Society, he currently is a member of the steering committee of the educational technologies section. 

Prof. Dr. Judith Simon
Prof. Dr. Judith Simon is Professor of Ethics in Information Technology at the University of Hamburg. She is concerned with the intertwining of ethical, epistemological and political issues in the context of Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and digitalisation in general. She is a member of the German Ethics Council, as well as various other bodies for scientific policy advice. She was a member of the Federal Government's Data Ethics Commission (2018-2019).  

Prof. Dr. Simone Abels
Prof. Dr. Simone Abels has been Vice President for Graduate School, Academic Qualification and Teacher Education at Leuphana University Lüneburg since October 2020. As Professor for Didactics of Science at the Institute for Sustainable Chemistry (INSC), she is intensively involved with questions of good teaching and learning in the context of school teaching. Her research interests lie particularly in the area of inclusive science teaching. Research-based learning, reflective teacher professionalisation and education for sustainable development are also among her research areas. 

Prof. Dr. Henrik von Wehrden
Prof. Dr. Henrik von Wehrden is Professor of Normativity of Methods. His research focuses on scientific methods and the interactions between different forms of knowledge. The context of knowledge deficits requires a critical choice of methods, and at the same time the role of science in society requires an integrative expansion of the scientific canon of methods. Accordingly, His research and teaching contributes to a post-disciplinary agenda, and extends scientific methods towards a greater inclusion of more socially effective knowledge.     

Finn Augustin 
Finn Augustin is a student of law and political science at Leuphana. In the last academic year 2022/23, he was the quality management representative for studies and teaching of the AStA. In the context of this activity, he dealt with the use of AI tools in teaching, among other things, and helped to design Leuphana's guideline.  

The panel discussion will be moderated by: 

Dr. Julia Webersik
Julia Webersik has been Head of Teaching Service at Leuphana University of Lüneburg since 2017 and thus works at the interface between the strategic and operational levels of teaching development. Together with Prof. Dr. Erich Hörl, she leads the project "DigiTaL - Digital Transformation Lab for Teaching and Learning", and together with the University of Osnabrück and the Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, the project "Souver@nes digitales Lehren und Lernen in Niedersachsen" (SOUVER@N). Both projects are funded by Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre (StIL) and run from 2021 to 2024. She currently is involved in the development of guidelines for AI in studying, teaching and examinations both within the university and across universities as part of the SOUVER@N project.