More than 150 students, researchers, teachers and professionals have participated for two weeks in the second edition of the Summer Courses of the San Jorge University and the Complutense University of Madrid, a multidisciplinary program focused on some of the main challenges of today’s society, such as the transformation of higher education, cybersecurity, mental health, healthy ageing and the migratory phenomenon.
The summer courses concluded with the programme «Redesigning the university: AI, dual learning and micro-credentials of the future», which was attended by the director of the Agency for University Quality and Foresight of Aragón, Cristina Rodríguez, the director of the Quality Agency of the University System of Catalonia, Mercé Gisbert, and the director of the Madri+d Foundation for Knowledge, Federico Morán.
During its inauguration, the Vice-Rector for Academic Policy of the San Jorge University, Jorge Echeverría, defended the need to build shared solutions between institutions to face the incorporation of technologies such as artificial intelligence with quality guarantees. For his part, Javier Sierra, delegate of the rector of the Complutense University for the Development and Evaluation of Programs, recalled that all innovation must preserve the essence of the university institution: to train people with criteria, creativity, critical thinking and a solid humanistic training.
THE ROLE OF AI IN EDUCATION AND SOCIETY
The rector of the USJ, Silvia Carrascal, inaugurated this second edition of the summer courses together with the general director of Universities of the Government of Aragon, María Luisa Feijóo, vindicating the role of universities in a context of permanent change. «Training can no longer be understood as a stage delimited in time,» said Carrascal, who defended that the university must offer spaces for updating, reflection and growth capable of responding to the demands of a world in constant transformation.
One of the programs, «Artificial Intelligence applied to education and educational contexts», was developed in collaboration with Microsoft thanks to an agreement signed between both institutions to promote training in artificial intelligence applied to teaching. During the different sessions, it was addressed how this technology is modifying learning processes and what are the competencies that both students and teachers will have to develop in the coming years.
Manuel Abellán, head of Educación Superior at Microsoft, warned that universities are facing «a paradigm shift» that forces them to rethink teaching models to train professionals capable of adding value in a labor market profoundly transformed by digitalization. Likewise, teachers and researchers agreed that the real challenge «is no longer to teach how to use artificial intelligence, but to learn to live with it without losing critical thinking».
The participants insisted that AI can become a great ally to personalize learning, facilitate inclusion or reduce repetitive tasks, although they warned of the need to train students in aspects such as data protection, the detection of biases, the ethical use of these tools and the ability to continue thinking autonomously.
Artificial intelligence was also the focus of the course «Ciberia: The role of Artificial Intelligence in cybersecurity», which brought together university specialists and representatives from the business world to analyse how this technology is redefining digital protection. For two days, they addressed advanced threat detection, incident response automation and the protection of critical infrastructures, without forgetting the use that cybercriminals also make of these tools to sophisticate their attacks.
The objective, as highlighted by the different speakers, is to train professionals capable of anticipating increasingly complex risks in a context in which Aragon is making progress in the implementation of artificial intelligence in strategic sectors such as automotive, logistics, agribusiness, energy and health.
FROM NEUROSCIENCE TO ACTIVE AGEING
The programming of these summer courses also dedicated a relevant space to health from different perspectives. The course «Trauma. Understanding, intervening and sustaining its complexity in clinical practice» brought together experts in neuroscience, developmental psychology and psychotherapy to deepen the understanding of trauma and new clinical intervention tools.
For its part, «Physical exercise for the improvement of health and autonomy in older adults», analysed how physical activity can contribute to preventing falls, maintaining functional autonomy and promoting healthy ageing through individualised programmes adapted to each person. The program was completed with the course «Identities in Transit: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Immigration«, held in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, where they analyzed migratory processes from a legal, social, political and humanistic perspective.
With this second edition, San Jorge University and Complutense University consolidate a proposal for dialogue between university, business and institutions to ensure that technology is at the service of a more inclusive education, a safer society and a university capable of responding to the challenges of the future without renouncing its humanistic dimension.
