Presentation Panel
AI in Higher Education: Strategic Integration, Challenges and Lessons Learned
Date Thursday, Dec 4 Time – Room: Bellevue
Generative AI is challenging higher education to rethink its purpose, practices, and future. This panel explores how universities can move beyond reactive policies to proactively redesign learning and leadership for the intelligent age. Drawing on insights from pioneering institutions, speakers will highlight both success factors and pitfalls in adoption, including ‘behind the scenes’ reporting. Learn practical strategies for using AI responsibly, preserving human-led learning, and building equitable, sustainable, and pedagogically sound AI-enabled higher education.
Eva Kohl
Assistant Dean Strategy & Transformation; Member of the Leadership Team, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management
Eva Kohl is a member of the leadership team and serves as Assistant Dean for Strategy & Transformation at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, Germany. She drives transformation initiatives at the intersection of people and technology, fostering organizational change and innovation. With a background in strategy consulting and degrees in business, she combines analytical expertise with practical experience to shape strategic agendas and deliver impactful projects that strengthen WHU’s future readiness.
Roland Böttcher
Professor for Business Administration / Head of the DigiTeach-Institut, Bochum University of Applied Sciences
Roland has been teaching Strategic Management, Leadership, and Introduction to Business Administration since 2004, bringing over two decades of academic experience to this field. In 2021, he assumed leadership of the Institute for Digital Management, where he spearheads initiatives focused on integrating digital technologies into educational pratice at his University. His pedagogical approach emphasizes the development of self-learning courses, reflecting his commitment to innovative teaching methodologies that empower students to take ownership of their learning journey.
Moderator
Erin Czerwinski
Manager, Learning Engineering and TEL Product, Carnegie Mellon University
Erin Czerwinski, is the Manager, Learning Engineering and Technology Enhanced Learning Product, for The Simon Initiative and The Open Learning Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University. Erin also serves on the steering committee of the International Consortium for Innovation and Collaboration in Learning Engineering (ICICLE), has authored several chapters in The Learning Engineering Toolkit (Goodell & Kolodner 2023), and was the Chair for the 2023 ICICLE Conference. Erin has deep expertise defining and using learning science methodologies, best practices, and product quality guidelines to deliver impactful learning experiences. She has over twenty years of experience effectively designing, implementing, evaluating, and improving online courses, curricula, and platforms. Erin has provided curriculum leadership at Western Governors University, and was the Director of Learning Engineering at Acrobatiq, Inc. after serving in a Learning Engineering position with CMU’s OLI. She holds an MS in Education from Duquesne University, specializing in instructional technologies.
What We Got Right (and Wrong): Lessons Learned from WHU’s ChatGPT Edu Rollout, Eva Kohl
This session presents structures and insights for integrating generative AI in higher education, sharing WHU’s firsthand lessons from pioneering the ChatGPT Edu rollout, including clear success factors and common pitfalls. Attendees will gain practical frameworks to align leadership, culture, and technology for responsible, institution-wide AI adoption.
Learning in the Age of AI: Challenges for Higher Education and Imperatives for Change, Roland Böttcher
Higher education is entering a turning point in the age of AI. A Vision of an innovative teaching model will be introduced, moving beyond knowledge transmission toward competence-oriented, enabling learning. Core design principles include AI literacy, project- and problem-based learning, and knowledge acquisition embedded in real-world challenges. Adaptive curricula, continuous feedback, and competence-based assessment strengthen learner autonomy, while institutional transformation creates supportive structures. Together, these elements form a forward-looking model for resilient, inclusive, and future-ready higher education.