German Experts Lead Chatbot Workshops for Faculty and Students at BSPU

On May 5–6, two workshops on the basics of working with AI-powered chatbots were held at Berdyansk State Pedagogical University (BSPU). The events were conducted by colleagues from Germany – Stefanie Go and Katrin Schelling, who research the use of artificial intelligence technologies in higher education.

The idea to organize these workshops for the BSPU academic community emerged after the university representatives’ academic mobility visit to Bielefeld University. During the visit, Nataliia Tsybuliak, Anastasiia Popova, and Artem Poluliakhov had the opportunity to attend a presentation by Stefanie Go and Katrin Schelling and noted its practical value for BSPU faculty and students. As a result, it was proposed to hold dedicated sessions for the university community.

The first workshop, “Basics of Chatbot Use for Faculty,” took place on May 5 and brought together BSPU instructors. The session covered the fundamental principles of how large language models work, the capabilities and limitations of chatbots, and various prompt design strategies. Special attention was given to how faculty can use these tools in their professional practice and how to integrate them into the educational process in a responsible and critical manner.

The second workshop, “Basics of Chatbot Use for Students,” was held on May 6 and targeted undergraduate and graduate students. Participants learned why simply asking a chatbot does not always yield high-quality results, how to formulate more precise queries, how to obtain more useful responses, and what distinguishes a basic prompt from an effective instruction.

Stefanie Go is a research associate and lecturer at Bielefeld University, specializing in educational sciences. Her research focuses on integrating artificial intelligence technologies into teaching and learning processes in higher education. In her PhD project, she explores how students and educators can participate in the design and use of AI-enhanced learning environments.

Katrin Schelling works as a freelance copywriter and editor and is also completing her PhD research focused on students and educators in higher education as target groups for AI-based learning technologies. She develops research-based user profiles that help app developers and higher education institutions better understand users’ needs, expectations, and potential contradictions in their experiences with AI.

These workshops marked an important step in strengthening BSPU’s international cooperation and provided a practical contribution to enhancing the digital and AI literacy of the university community. For both faculty and students, they offered an opportunity not only to explore modern tools but also to discuss how to use them consciously, ethically, and effectively for learning.

Based on materials by
Anastasiia Popova, Nataliia Tsybuliak, and Artem Poluliakhov