Invited Speakers

Prof. Piet Kommers
University of Twente, The Netherlands

Piet Kommers is a pioneer in AI, Machine Learning, Education, Big Data, and Evaluation. He was appointed Chairman of the NATO Advanced Research Workshops. He was invited to initiate, supervise, and assess EU projects during and after his scientific career at the University of Twente, Utrecht, and the Lectorate at Fontys University of Applied Sciences. Critical validation and long-term policy direction are central to this work. The starting point is that the evaluation of AI for education and training relies on thoughtful reconstructions and an understanding of the broader spectrum of variables in Higher and Vocational Education.
My biographical note may be distilled from the web link below. https://sites.google.com/site/pkommers/home

Speech Title: Semantic Anchoring for AI in Conceptual Design 

Abstract: While Education shifts its methods from ‘Direct Instruction’ to ‘Meaningful Understanding,’ through 'Thematic Learning' and 'Creative Problem Solving', the new potential roles for AI and Data Analytics are lifting off. This keynote speech has been conceived from the conclusions of ongoing European Projects and paradigmatic shifts in society and technology. It is the global awareness that AI can scaffold human learning; however, its unique contribution lies in young people’s trust that global geopolitical conflicts can only be countered through moral defense and existential resilience; a trust that transcends 'access to information'. Two main roads towards a more pedagogically sound education can be discerned worldwide at this very moment:
1. The skills and cognitive mindset, ready for living in synergy with AI-based accommodations, as we see in penetrating schools nowadays.
2. The courage of allowing education to target youngsters’ authentic and creative thinking based on prior intuition and moral foundations.
This invited lecture presents the most indicative exemplars of projects worldwide that help policy makers to find proper functions for ‘Big Data Analytics’ in In-service Teacher Training, Curricular Design, and New Assessment Methods in the coming decade. At the more tactical level, the need for ontologies and conceptual underpinnings of AI will be presented and discussed.