The higher education interoperability workgroup members met in September 2024 at the Hasso Plattner Institute’s (HPI) d-school in Potsdam, Germany, to participate in the second design thinking workshop. Representatives of European University alliances also attended the workshop.
During the two-day workshop, workgroup experts and representatives developed prototypes for ready-to-use tools which will help institutions and alliances build interoperable virtual learning environments. The tools will serve as a practical toolkit for leadership, management, and operational staff to use and implement the European Higher Education Interoperability Framework.
The workshop was organised by the European Digital Education Hub.
The participants explored key components for
- interoperable virtual learning campuses
- flexible learning paths
- seamless mobility within and between alliances
Their work on the European Higher Education Interoperability Framework aims to fulfil the shared vision presented in the Higher Education Interoperability Manifesto [pdf]
Explainable AI (also referred to as XAI) in education refers to AI systems that reveal how certain decisions and recommendations are made in educational contexts. Unlike traditional AI, which can be a ‘black box’ with hidden processes, XAI reveals its decision-making steps.
This transparency helps students, educators and administrators to better understand the AI’s reasoning. By making AI decisions more transparent, XAI can support fairer, more effective, and inclusive educational experiences.
Highlights from the Workshop
The workshop participants built on the workgroup’s previous developments, including use cases where interoperability is key to trans-national cooperation. They mainly focused on 4 priority use cases:
- Discovery of learning opportunities
- Applying and getting recognition
- Digital credentials
- Interoperable user identity
Based on these, the participants designed:
- a set of ready-to-use tools to address interoperability at the leadership and management levels within institutions and alliances
- specific guidelines based on the reference architecture and inventory of existing standards and solutions
Next steps
In the coming months, alliances will test the prototypes. The final implementation guidelines will be presented in January 2025.
The workgroup plans to release the finalised European Higher Education Interoperability Framework in February 2025.