SmartStart Teacher Academy approved for ERASMUS+ funding

A European teacher academy is to be established at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (KU) in the coming years. With its concept of focusing on artificial intelligence and bringing several international partners on board, the KU prevailed against more than a hundred competitors in an EU tender, according to a statement issued by the KU on Thursday. 

Starting in 2025, a team from Eichstätt specializing in primary school didactics and pedagogy will scientifically lead and coordinate a “SmartStart Erasmus+ Teacher Academy.” The European Teacher Academy is to be established with twelve partner institutions in seven countries starting in April 2025. The aim of the project is to show teachers and teacher training students how AI-based methods and tools can be integrated into primary school teaching in a pedagogically meaningful way. “There are, for example, tutoring systems or apps that interactively respond to the learning progress of individual students,” explained Professor Klaudia Schultheis. 

AI can relieve teachers, leaving them more time for individual children. Support must be strongest in primary school, “so that no child is left behind.” AI is still in its infancy in primary schools, said Schultheis. The target group for the new academy is students and experienced teachers in Germany, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Slovakia, and Spain. To overcome language barriers, the Chair of English Language Didactics is developing its own AI-based translation tool. 

Ultimately, “SmartStart” will not only be available at the participating institutions, but also online via the ‘eTwinning’ platform as further training for all interested teachers in Europe. According to the information provided, 15 “Erasmus+ Teacher Academies” are to be established across Europe.