KI-Campus Community of Practice - Germany | Digital Skills & Jobs Platform

The AI Campus (KI-Campus in German) started off in 2019 as a pilot project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with the aim of developing a learning platform for anyone seeking to gain AI-specific knowledge. Since then, the KI Campus has been developed further by several organisations and bodies, including the Stifterverband, the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI), NEOCOSMO and the mmb Institute to produce the current version of the digital platform (live since 2020).

Background and aims

Since 2020, the German AI Campus has provided a free digital platform, curated with a selection of courses on AI. The objective of the online platform is to build networks between learners, training providers of AI courses, and educational experts, and thereby improve the quality and quantity of AI teaching provision, skills and competences. Throughout this process, training providers are connected with one another and receive support on the design and implementation of online courses, podcasts, video materials, and other digital skills resources. Learners on the other hand, are encouraged to give timely feedback on the courses they have taken via the AI Campus platform, and improve the quality of the resource base.

The AI Campus also promotes knowledge exchange and research mobility of experts across the EU, and has built sustainable partnerships with similar platforms and initiatives on a global and national level. To support this, the AI Campus has created multi-layered communities of practice, which brings together all actors in the AI sphere - effectively an ecosystem for improving AI competences that shapes the AI Campus at the same time.

The AI Campus also has AI Expert Labs that function as the 'Think and Do' tanks of the AI Campus. AI ExpertLabs serve as the central innovation hubs of the AI Campus in terms of content and methodological development. Set up to facilitate networking and knowledge-exchange between experts in AI implementation, researchers, teachers of digital technologies and ICT, and IT practitioners.

Why is this a good practice?

The AI Campus facilitates networking between learners via the established networks based on various topics and levels. It also coordinates learning in virtual or regional local groups, offering an accessible way for learners to enter the training environment on their own terms.

The network of lecturers and teachers is similarly supported to integrate lessons learnt, experience and modules of the learning opportunities into their training content. This means the training opportunities and modules are easily adaptable to other contexts and countries, or target audiences. Training providers also receive pedagogical advice and tips on embedding didactical innovative training opportunities within the courses and resources they offer. Collaboration is a key prerequisite of the AI Campus: the AI Expert Labs support knowledge exchange between subject experts from different application departments on cross-cutting issues.

Since its start in 2020, AI Campus has successfully built a nation-wide (and global) ecosystem of relevant players in the digital field (from research and academia, to industry and business, education, and politics). The results and outputs of the digital platform and the learning content are transferable and support the development of new learning content, or the definition of learning needs and requirements. In this way, the AI Campus supports a better informed society when it comes to AI topics, and contributes to improving AI education in Germany and abroad.