NOLAI: Off to a Festive Start

What does education really need? 

In his video message, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Dennis Wiersma asked to take a closer look at what education really needs, which innovations best fit those needs, and how they can be designed in the best and safest way. A task that NOLAI will put into practice by starting each co-creation project with the same question: what does education need? Follow-up questions will then be used to examine which issues can be supported, overcome or improved by AI in education. 

Why NOLAI is Needed 

Michiel Boots, Director-General of Economy and Digitalisation at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate dwelt in his opening speech on why NOLAI is needed. In the coming years, he indicated, a huge increase in AI in education is expected and taking the lead for Dutch education is complicated. Schools often find it difficult to articulate their questions for digital learning tools, it is difficult for new providers with creative ideas to gain a foothold in the market, and academia sometimes finds it challenging to formulate research questions that contribute to real-world issues. The synergy between universities, schools, teacher training institutes and industry will therefore be indispensable within NOLAI. 

Talking Together 

Inge Molenaar, Scientific Director of NOLAI, elaborated on the policy perspective in a panel discussion with Han van Krieken, Michiel Boots and Timon Verheule, Director of Secondary Education and Deputy Director-General of Basic Education at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The ministries mentioned how NOLAI can bridge the gap between innovation and the digital economy on the one hand and improve the quality of education on the other. 

Bridge-building

The second panel discussion on the functioning of NOLAI again focused on bridge-building. Specifically, it discussed how education, science and business will work together within the lab. Discussing this included Ewald van Vliet (Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Lucas Education), Kilian Geryszewski (teacher at Lucas and Teacher in Residence at NOLAI), Tamar Sharon (Professor of Philosophical Ethics at Radboud University) and Jonas Voorzanger (Co-Founder of the company LeerLevels and also a member of the NOLAI Programme Board). In conversation with Inge Molenaar, they made it clear how important it is for the various stakeholders in NOLAI to connect and stay engaged with each other. 

Stakeholders' view

In the third and final part of the morning session, Marieke van Osch, Co-Creation Director of NOLAI, and Stefan Dormans, Operational Director of NOLAI, entered the room to hear how other stakeholders viewed the lab. For instance, Pieter Duisenberg, President of UNL, explained why the choice to locate NOLAI at Radboud University was supported by all rectors. Fien Depaepe, affiliated with KU Leuven and ITEC Smart Education, illustrated how NOLAI is closely related to initiatives abroad, while Larissa Zegveld, Director of Stichting Kennisnet, expressed the hope that NOLAI can contribute to the development of supported, proven technology for teachers as well as students and their parents. 

Question articulation and reference framework

During lunch, there were presentations by several EdTech companies, such as WRTS, Numo, Numworx and SlimStampen, as well as several posters by scientists and companies. After lunch, two parallel sessions offered the opportunity to delve deeper into the practical elaboration as well as the substantive context of the lab. In one session, Marieke van Osch, together with Kilian Geryszewski, gave an insight into the way NOLAI deals with question articulation. In the other session, Inge Molenaar, together with Bart Tuerlings, Teacher in Residence at NOLAI and working in education at Stichting Klasse, presented the frame of reference which should provide a common language to bring education, science and business together within NOLAI. During this session, Hein Broekkamp, Senior Council Advisor to the Education Council, also commented on the Education Council's recent report: "Deployment of Intelligent Technology".  

Throughout the opening, Suus van den Akker made live drawings of what she saw and heard. Her illustrations nicely summarised the day and, like NOLAI, highlighted both the opportunities and risks associated with the use of AI in education.