Time for a quick reflection on AI Pioneers’ Conference last week. We are still conducting the evaluation but even without that it is obvious from talking to participants that it was a great success. The conference organisation was excellent reflecting the work of the organising team from the ITB at the University of Bremen,

The agenda was varied and mixed together keynotes, presentations, networking session and. Workshops. Suck varied sessions prevented the onset of the all too often conference fatigue, as too did frequent breaks and continuously available coffee.

Compared to other AI. And Education events I have attended the conference was focused on practice and non the interchange between research and practice.. Policy as also visited but from the viewpoint of practitioners rather than the over ways round. Particularly noticeable was the willingness to share between people in different institutions and organisations and from different countries. The sharing embraced what had been tried and had worked but also what had not worked - the latter all too frequently ignored in such gatherings.

For a Erasmus:+ project conference the attendance and participation of 120 delegates was impressive and probably reflects the high visibility the project consortium has achieved. But it is also worth noting that the project funding allowed the conference to be organised without charging a fee. Although many in higher education are able to use institutional funding for attending conferences, the reality is that this is not so common in Vocational Education and Training.

Now, following the conference, we are actively looking at how the momentum from the AI Pioneers Conference can be maintained in the future; more about that soon.

But the last word goes to my colleagues Ana Dias from TechMinho at Minho University in Portugal and Angela Karadog from Pontydysgu.

In a post on LinkedIn Angela summed up her take-aways from the conference:

We can’t escape AI but we can make informed choices. We don’t have to buy into big-tech ‘solutions’ built on exploitation. We are hitting planetary boundaries for infrastructure so some innovation around lowering the environmental, energy and water use would be welcome about now. We (educators)need networking and community and collaboration.

And In a post also on LinkedIn Ana summed up the main message from the conference:

The conference and all conversations confirmed something I strongly believe: AI in education is not only a technological issue — it is fundamentally pedagogical, ethical and systemic. And the VET sector must play a central role in this transformation. I'm looking forward to continuing the dialogue — critically, collaboratively, and with purpose.

About the Image

Some people work in cubicles within office spaces, while others operate in more flexible environments. In the top-left corner, I depict a group of figures throwing the computer to symbolise the threats, lack of regulation, and exploitation that can accompany this newfound freedom, especially in the age of AI. Similarly, the mouse-cursor-shaped birds continue to create chaos in the sky, representing the unpredictable challenges that AI and automation pose for those working outside traditional structured – creatives, gig workers and freelancers. This series is composed of digital illustrations, created by me at home, in cafés, on the subway, and even on aeroplanes. By employing digital painting techniques, I aim to stay closely aligned with the theme of 'digital'. The way illustrators work is also being reshaped by digital technology—even career trajectories are being influenced by technological advancements (such as AI). This image was selected as a winner of the Digital Dialogues Art Competition, which was run in partnership with the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) and supported by the UKRI ESRC.