Prof. Dr. Elena Mäkiö
Participation in national and international conferences
The diverse expertise in the field of artificial intelligence at Furtwangen University has enriched several conferences in recent weeks. The state-wide online conference “HAWAII” (HAW Artificial Intelligence Innovation), organised by the office of the Study Commission for University Didactics (GHD) in cooperation with HAW BW e.V. and all universities of applied sciences in Baden-Württemberg, focused on the role of AI in studying and teaching.
Prof. Dr. Ullrich Dittler, Head of the Center for Teaching and Learning, presented the latest results of a student survey on AI use. The survey showed that AI was increasingly being used as a dialogical learning partner – for example, to follow up on lectures or to prepare for exams independently. To ensure data security and fair use, HFU students have had access to the data protection-compliant AI version “BWGPT” via the university's own learning platform since the 2025/26 winter semester.
Prof. Dr. Elena Mäkiö from the Faculty of Computer Science & Applications addressed the teaching of critical thinking in the age of AI at the HAWAII conference. She emphasised that, in addition to imparting knowledge, skills such as analysis, evaluation, conclusion, and self-regulation must also be specifically promoted in university teaching in order to enable students to evaluate AI-generated content in a reflective manner.
In addition, Prof. Dr. Mäkiö presented her research findings on this topic at the international ICL Conference on Interactive and Collaborative Learning and Engineering Education in Budapest at the beginning of October. Her presentation, “Fostering Critical Thinking and Authentic Learning with AI-Powered Applications in Engineering Education,” was met with great interest and positive feedback. Furthermore, new contacts were made for future collaborations.
