From November 28 to 30, 2024 the first Budapest International Conference on Education (BICE 2024) took place at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME).

Christine Siemer (AI Pioneers) and Vivian Harberts (AI4ED) from the Institute Technology and Education (German: Institut Technik und Bildung, ITB) at the University of Bremen, Germany, participated in the conference as part of the VETAssIst networking event with a presentation on the topic of “Use cases of artificial intelligence in vocational education and training”. The use cases presented are from the current Erasmus+ funded projects AI Pionners and AI4ED and related to the identification and development of AI applications in VET.

The presentations were followed by a workshop on needs and challenges in the use of AI in vocational training. Three themed tables were held on the topics of (1) AI and teacher training, (2) Politics and administration in VET schools and (3) Acceptance of AI in vocational education and training. The last topic was moderated by colleagues from the Institute of Technology and Education and the main questions discussed were: How skepticism and reservations about AI can be reduced? or which strategies promote acceptance among teachers and learners?

A key outcome of the discussion using the example of ChatGPT was that there is a need for more transparency regarding the use and interpretation of AI-generated data on the part of both students and teachers. In addition, a certain degree of skepticism should remain and the potential risks should also be taken into account in the hype surrounding AI.

We would like to thank the organizers for a great and interesting conference!