Georgia Tech Center for 21st Century Universities

Thank you to everyone who joined the GT Atrium microforum, “AI Project Management,” hosted at the Curiosity Lab in Peachtree Corners. The conversation explored the distinctions between routine automation and intelligent AI and examined how each contributes to effective project work across different settings. The session, led by C21U Project Support Specialist Sr. Daniel Rosebud, PMP, SSM, highlighted ways project teams can incorporate responsible and trustworthy AI features to strengthen outcomes and reduce risk. Participants gained practical approaches for blending automated processes with advanced AI systems to support reliable project execution. The GT Atrium will host another microforum next month, introducing a new topic and continuing our commitment to lifetime learning and open knowledge exchange across the Georgia Tech community and beyond. #AIProjectManagement #ResponsibleAI #InnovationInPractice #FutureOfWork

C21U and the Institute for Future Education at Sungkyunkwan University invite the community to the online forum titled "Future of Innovation Through AI." The program features keynote talks, research presentations, and an open panel discussion examining new approaches to learning design, faculty development, and institutional transformation. Speakers will highlight opportunities for global collaboration that advance educational innovation. Sang Hoon Bae, provost and director of the Education and Future Institute at Sungkyunkwan University, and Stephen Harmon, executive director of C21U and associate dean at Georgia Tech Professional Education, will deliver keynote presentations. Research will be presented by C21U Visiting Scholar Sanghyun Jang, Director of Research in Education Innovation Jeonghyun (Jonna) Lee, and So Youn Byoun, professor at Busan University of Foreign Studies and adjunct researcher at the Education and Future Institute at Sungkyunkwan University. Event details: Thursday, February 26, 7–9 p.m. EST Online. No registration required. Access the forum at https://lnkd.in/gDppBvyD. Passcode: 50507 #AI #HigherEd #AIinEducation #FutureEducation

The inaugural Bill Kent Family Foundation AI in Higher Education fellows are only a few months into their work, and each project is already showing meaningful progress across teaching, learning, and creative practice at Georgia Tech. Professor Ying Zhang’s first deployment of an AI tutor has led to higher average scores and more consistent performance across students, and an enhanced version is being introduced this spring. Patrick Danahy has advanced AI-supported design ideation, integrated new workflows into studio instruction, and launched the Visual Intelligence(s) lecture series, with robotics-driven exploration expanding next semester. Joy Arulraj’s team has built a fully functional, local-first AI tutor for databases and is now developing approaches to assess question difficulty and model student knowledge. Professor Flavio Fenton is embedding responsible AI into scientific writing and physics education and rethinking how students engage with computational simulations as AI capabilities evolve. The fellowship has also sparked new collaborations. Fenton, Zhang, and Arulraj recently submitted a joint proposal to the U.S. Department of Education’s FIPSE Special Projects program. To learn more about the fellows’ work, read "From Ideas to Impact: Inside the First Months of the BKFF AI in Higher Education Fellowship" webpage at https://lnkd.in/eapqV-A5. Pictured from left to right: Patrick Danahy, Lesley Baradel (representing the BKFF), Eric Sembrat, Ph.D., Ying Zhang, Flavio Fenton, and Joy Arulraj. #AIinEducation #HigherEd #TeachingAndLearning #FacultyResearch

C21U Research Scientist Meryem Yılmaz Soylu and School of Biological Sciences Lecturer Lesley Baradel presented their work on AI-supported assessment design in online courses at the UPCEA 2026 Digital Teaching and Learning Conference. Their session, “Talk Back to Learn: Reimagining Assessment with AI Conversation Instructional Design,” explored how structured AI conversations can guide students more intentionally through course concepts. Meryem and Leslie shared findings from an applied physiology course that piloted Socratic Mind, showing that students who used oral responses completed assessments more efficiently and reported higher motivation. Streamlined, applied questions and the option to respond orally reduced cognitive fatigue and strengthened engagement with the material. Their work, conducted with C21U Director of Research in Education Innovation Jeonghyun (Jonna) Lee and Socratic Mind creator Ray (Jui-Tse) Hung, underscores how C21U is using AI tools and research-driven approaches to help instructors create more meaningful learning experiences in online and hybrid courses. #AIinEducation #DigitalTeaching #OnlineLearning #AssessmentDesign

Calling project managers, innovators, and AI-curious professionals, this Learning Lab is for you! Explore the critical distinctions between routine automation and intelligent AI and learn how to blend these technologies effectively in the GT Atrium Learning Lab, “AI Project Management.” The session will provide actionable insights to ensure trustworthy and responsible AI features in projects, improve project success rates, and mitigate risk. Event Details Speaker: C21U Project Support Specialist Sr. Daniel Rosebud Date and Time: Tuesday, February 17, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Location: Curiosity Lab, Peachtree Corners, GA Open to the public, with lunch provided. RSVP by Wednesday, February 11, at https://lnkd.in/eYbjuETM.

If you support international students, you already know that overflowing inboxes, walk-in hours, and ad hoc advising are no longer enough, especially when policy shifts or global disruptions create sudden waves of questions. The real differentiator is how intentionally your institution uses technology to scale care, not just manage volume. In the Times Higher Education article "Using technology to support international students," Kathleen Kirk, Ph.D., associate director of international student and scholar services in the Office of International Education at Georgia Tech, shares practical examples of how to implement these approaches. From database systems that interface with government portals to virtual advising, ticketed email, chatbots, pre-arrival campaigns, wellness resource hubs, and career-focused webinars, she illustrates how technology choices can directly strengthen international students' experience and outcomes. We invite colleagues across higher education to read the article and consider how similar approaches might enhance support on your campus at https://lnkd.in/eH8wDRcs. #EdTech #HigherEd #InternationalStudents #Technology

How can AI act as a true thought partner in learning, rather than just a tool for quick answers? That question shaped our January C21U Learning Lab, where colleagues from across the College of Lifetime Learning shared a research-informed vision for AI-enabled education. The session featured Senior Research Scientist Eunhye Grace Flavin, Research Scientist II Abeera Rehmat, and Web Developer Love Park from CEISMC, along with Jeonghyun (Jonna) Lee, Director of Research in Education Innovation at C21U. Together, they introduced "Design of Learning Environments," a foundational online course in the learning sciences that leverages AI to support adult learners. The team demonstrated how platforms like Socratic Mind and the tool they're developing, CoDialogue Space, can provide real-time, AI-supported feedback; deepen conceptual understanding; and foster meaningful, collaborative dialogue at scale. One of the most compelling parts of the Learning Lab was the closing discussion. Participants raised thoughtful questions about responsible AI use, learner agency, and what "limitless learning for everyone" can look like when human-centered AI design is central to new courses and programs. The conversation underscored the importance of pairing technological innovation with intentional pedagogy. We are excited to continue exploring how AI-powered thought partnership can enhance access, support reflection, and open new pathways for learners at every stage of their careers. #AIinEducation #LearningSciences #LifetimeLearning #EdInnovation #HigherEd

SAVE THE DATE! C21U’s annual spring symposium will take place on Thursday, April 23, 2026, featuring a keynote address by Magdy Karam, Chief Learning Officer for Microsoft Americas. Hosted at the Global Learning Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this half-day event will convene leaders and innovators from across the learning ecosystem for a day of exploration, connection, and fresh thinking about the future of lifetime learning. The full program and registration details will be available soon. In the meantime, visit the symposium’s webpage at https://lnkd.in/eqZSB3Y8. #LifetimeLearning #HigherEd #Symposium

Higher education must rethink how learning spaces function and what students need from them. In her Times Higher Education article, “Connected Classrooms: Building Belonging, Trust and Well-being,” Christie Stewart, Ph.D. examines this shift through a lens that feels especially relevant as institutions navigate rising expectations for building community and support. For anyone considering how teaching environments can evolve in response to these changes, her perspective offers a compelling starting point. You can read the article at https://lnkd.in/eArUnQJ4. #HigherEducation #Wellbeing #Teaching

C21U is pushing the boundaries of educational technology by integrating advanced AI systems that support our mission to empower students. A key part of this effort is ensuring that the models we rely on are transparent, trustworthy, and rigorously evaluated through explainable AI (XAI) methods. One area where this work is advancing is in our ongoing model explainability initiatives. Our data analyst, Adrian Gallard, plays a central role in this work by implementing Shapley additive value analyses, dissecting part-of-speech tags, and detecting common phrasing within the target class using token sequences. These techniques help us identify which words are strongly valued and their characteristics; this allows us to understand what the model is observing and what it reflects about our input data. We use Python packages such as SHAP and spaCy to implement many of these analyses, allowing us to uncover the reasoning behind model predictions and identify opportunities to strengthen reliability and fairness. By deepening our understanding of how these systems behave, we can build confidence in their accuracy at scale and ensure that AI-driven tools align with C21U’s commitment to responsible innovation. #AI #EdTech #HigherEducation #StudentSuccess