Digital Leadership winner of SISA's pedagogical prize
Each year, the Swedish Information Systems Academy (SISA) awards its pedagogical prize to a teacher or a group of teachers who have made an exemplary contribution to education. This year's prize was given to the teaching team of the master's programme Digital Leadership at the University of Gothenburg, represented by programme coordinator Aleksandre Asatiani.
In SISA's rationale for the award, the focus is on the application of AI tools as a means to innovate and improve teaching and learning.
The criteria for being considered for the prize include that the pedagogical effort must be student-centered, have a clear learning dimension, and make a difference for both students and teachers. This is evidently the case in the Digital Leadership master's programme.
Aleksandre Asatiani, what does this prize mean to you who work with the programme?
I take it as a recognition of the hard work the Digital Leadership teacher team put into pedagogical innovation and quality of the programme. It's very nice to see our early leap into AI tools being recognized - we jumped in when this was all still new territory, trying to figure out how to make these tools work for both our teachers and students. It makes me happy seeing all our experiments and hard work getting some publicity.
I have got to mention my colleague Fredrik Svahn here – he has been absolutely brilliant. Just as everyone was starting to talk about AI in education, after public release of ChatGPT, Fredrik was already there, building tools and figuring out how to make them work in a classroom. We honestly wouldn't be where we are today without his significant efforts.
What do you see as the programme coordinator's main responsibilities in ensuring educational quality and how have you worked to do that?
Programme coordinators have their share of administrative tasks that are essential for the programme to run. But for me, the heart of being a programme coordinator is creating this amazing space where teachers can really shine. It is about getting them excited about teaching, working together, trying new things, and actually loving what they do. We are constantly adapting the programme to keep up with what our students need, what our teachers are great at, and what's happening in the real world.
We have cultivated a culture of continuous experimentation and innovation, supported by our excellent study administration team who have embraced our initiatives to enhance everything from course structures to student feedback mechanisms.
One of the best things we've done is start informal monthly lunch meetings. These meetings serve as an open forum where ideas flourish, our teacher team culture strengthens, and we collaboratively develop solutions to emerging challenges. These discussions have created an environment rich in positive energy and productivity.
What made the programme Digital Leadership stand out and get selected?
It was our innovative work with AI. Last year, we rolled out four different AI tools that Fredrik developed. These were custom-built tools using OpenAI's models as a foundation. We have chatbots helping students navigate their courses, AI tutors making it easier for students to get started with Python programming, and some really cool tools that help teachers make sense of student discussions on Canvas, and better prepare for seminar discussions. These are quite unique, and I think that caught the attention of the SISA pedagogical prize committee.
What do you think more people should know about your programme?
At Digital Leadership, we love trying new things and pushing boundaries in how we teach. We encourage our students to be forward-thinking, embracing digital technology, while still keeping their critical thinking caps on about how all this affects society. So, we also want to practice what we preach and have the same attitude towards our work as educators.
But all this is done to serve a single purpose – creating this amazing learning environment where students can focus on learning, connect with others who share their interests, and learn from teachers who are genuinely passionate about their subjects. We've got some incredible experts on our team who absolutely love what they do, and I think that enthusiasm really rubs off on our students.
The association's purpose is to contribute to the coordination and promotion of research and education within the field of informatics or information systems in Sweden.
Each year, the association awards a teaching prize. The prize can be awarded to a teacher or a group of teachers who have made an exemplary pedagogical effort. An exemplary effort is student-centered, has a clear learning dimension, and makes a difference for students and teachers. It may pertain to new subject-specific didactic approaches, teaching methods, assessment, supervision, mentorship, course or program development, use of digital teaching materials, assignments (e.g., laboratory work, exercises, or educational cases), evaluation, quality assurance, and so on.