Speakers
Description
Generative AI is rapidly entering higher education, yet most institutions rely on commercial, opaque systems that undermine autonomy, privacy, and pedagogical control. Karlstad University has developed a system for digitally sovereign AI chatbots built on open standards, open-source technologies, and institutionally governed infrastructure. Integrated via LTI and using WordPress as a modular knowledge layer, the system ensures universities retain control over data, governance, and educational use. A key innovation is structured ingestion of Open Educational Resources and course syllabi, improving accuracy and pedagogical alignment. The project demonstrates how European universities and NRENs can collaboratively build transparent, sustainable AI aligned with public-sector values.
What will the TNC audience take away from your talk?
This presentation is intended for leaders, developers, and strategists across the GEANT community who are engaged in digital transformation, educational technologies, research infrastructures, and policy related to AI in higher education. The session will benefit NREN professionals, campus IT architects, digital learning designers, library and teaching staff, and institutional decision-makers exploring responsible AI adoption.
Our work directly aligns with TNC’s long-standing themes of openness, federated identity, trust frameworks, and the role of NRENs in supporting digital infrastructure for research and education. In particular, it explores how universities can develop AI services that are interoperable, transparent, privacy-preserving, and institutionally controlled, reflecting European digital-sovereignty ambitions and GEANT’s mission to foster shared, open technologies.
The session will not simply present a project overview. Instead, it will provide the community with actionable insights:
How a university can design and deploy its own AI chatbot using open standards (LTI) and open-source platforms (WordPress).
Why feeding AI with Open Educational Resources (OER) can strengthen accuracy, reduce hallucinations, and align chatbot behaviour with institutional pedagogical goals.
What governance, data flows, and infrastructure models are required to keep AI support both trustworthy and autonomous.
Where NRENs could play a future role in supporting shared AI services and sovereign European alternatives to commercial models.
Participants will leave with a blueprint for building AI ecosystems that respect public-sector values, mitigate platform dependency, and enhance teaching and learning through well-governed, transparent technologies.
| Are you a first time speaker at TNC? | Yes |
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