What’s taking place in European classrooms these days is really quite remarkable. Rather than being educated in artificial intelligence through a textbook, children are actually developing it through AI learning projects. Of course, this is not your standard computer course where students memorize programming languages; children in ten different countries are developing actual solutions using artificial intelligence to address problems they notice in their everyday lives.
European schools finally respond to AI skill shortages
Let’s face it: Europe faces a huge AI problem—not a robotic apocalypse, but a problem with far more immediate implications. More than 60% of the population lacks AI expertise, which is a problem today, according to a report by the European Commission. Meanwhile, 77% of companies lack people with AI skills, which is why salaries in this sector have skyrocketed.
Here’s the kicker, though. When 7,000 teenagers were surveyed about AI, three-quarters of them expected it to influence their working lives. Fewer than half, though, thought their educational institutions were preparing them for this eventuality. It is this disconnect exactly that means conventional education feels so remote from reality in the present day.
Students work on real startups rather than homework projects
They apply this AI technology to real-world problems through project-based learning, developing projects such as water technology systems to the point where they can build a sign language translator that will actually function. This is not academic—the kids are building prototypes and testing them on actual people and pitching to investors. The whole system flips the classroom model on its head, where kids were basically passive recipients of information and regurgitated it all on a test.
AI-ENTR4YOUTH: Transforming education across Europe
The project, which makes this possible, is named AI-ENTR4YOUTH and is being conducted by JA Europe with support from Intel and the European Commission. What began with pilots in Italy, Portugal, and Spain is now being conducted in Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Romania, and Ukraine. Students spend a total of 52 hours learning everything from programming in Python to developing a business model, but where the magic happens is when they put this knowledge into practice.
For instance, Ajsel from Albania developed a system called PulsePal for observing patients’ vital signs from a distance. Then there is a Spanish team that developed a system called WaterScreen to record water consumption in schools when a drought is in place. Such systems have actually won prizes and have attracted investors. The World Economic Forum ranks this project among the top eight AI projects in education in the whole world.
“We are helping young people turn AI from a mystery into a meaningful tool for creation and inclusion,” says Salvatore Nigro, CEO of JA Europe.
Scaling remains the largest challenge for the future
Implementing this in all of Europe will not be an easy feat. Education in these countries is where the problem really lies—you can’t just put a curriculum in a teacher’s hand and hope magic will work. Some countries have teachers who are digital natives, and in other countries, educators are close to retiring, with a PowerPoint being the most advanced technology they can work with.
The European Commission is attempting to harmonize this with a new AI Literacy Framework it has developed in partnership with the OECD and countries in the G7. The most inspiring element is not in their policy initiative but in observing youth from a smartphone generation, naturally incorporating the construction of AI solutions. They aren’t afraid of this technology in the way adults appear to be. They simply view this technology as a tool for solving a problem they want to solve.
