Objective

Many universities now offer supplementary or voluntary AI workshops, but attendance is often very low: Those who attend are either students who are already interested in AI or those who feel acute pressure to perform. In addition, students rarely use the AI tools provided by their own universities because they fear internal monitoring, for example. The interactive workshop aims to bring together the various concepts from different universities – at organisational, technical and pedagogical levels.

Key questions

• How do we motivate students to develop their AI skills?
• How can we build trust in the use of the university's own AI tools?
• Which motivational triggers work for different student groups (e.g. subject cultures, first-year students, international students)?

Expected outcomes

Participants will leave with:

• A shortlist of high-impact engagement strategies (organizational level).
• A set of workshop design patterns that reliably create participation and transfer (pedagogical level).
• A list of trust-building technical and communication measures for campus AI tools (technical level).

Procedure (90 minutes)

Introduction & round of introductions (10 min)

• Quick check-in: "Why do students (not) attend AI workshops?" (1–2 keywords per person)

Experiences of TU Dortmund University (15 min)

• Presentation of TU Dortmund University's experience in the field of AI in studies and teaching at organizational, technical, and pedagogical level
  • Presentation of workshop concepts for teachers and students (pedagogical level)
  • AI tools at TU Dortmund University (technical level)
  • Framework conditions for the use of AI (organizational level)

World café with three themed tables (3 x 15 min)

All three tables will focus on the question of how to inspire students to further develop their skills in the field of AI.

Table 1 - organizational level

Task question: “What would make students choose AI skill-building as a priority—without extra pressure?”

Table 2 - pedagogical level

Task question: “What is the most compelling format students would attend voluntarily—and why?”

Table 3 - technical level

Task question: “What would make a campus AI tool feel more trustworthy and useful than external alternatives?”

Presentation of the three themed tables (15 min)

The discussion at each table is briefly presented by one person and then discussed and classified in the plenary session.

Summary and closing (5 min)

The workshop chair will summarize the workshop briefly, save the results, and forward them to the participants.

Briefly workshop description:

Join this interactive workshop to co-design practical ways to boost student participation in AI skill-building offers. Together, we’ll explore what really motivates students to attend AI workshops voluntarily, how universities can build trustin campus AI tools, and which organizational, pedagogical, and technical levers make the biggest difference. Through a fast-paced World Café, you’ll exchange ideas with peers from other institutions and leave with a set of ready-to-test engagement strategies, proven format patterns, and trust-building measures you can apply at your own university.