In September 2025, UniGe together with five partner universities from Latvia (applicant), Lithuania, Spain, Germany and Slovenia launched a new international initiative - the Erasmus+ cooperation partnership project “Empowering Higher Education through Artificial Intelligence Integration” (EHEAII).
The project was born out of a shared understanding among European universities that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming higher education faster than ever before. While AI tools open up new opportunities for innovation, efficiency, and creativity, they also bring challenges - from questions about academic integrity to the need for new teaching methods and policies. The EHEAII project aims to help universities navigate these changes responsibly and effectively, ensuring that AI enhances learning rather than replaces essential human skills such as critical thinking, analysis, and creativity.
Through research, collaboration, and training, the project will provide universities with practical tools and clear guidance for integrating AI into teaching, research, and administration. It will assess how ready European higher education institutions are to use AI, identify areas that need improvement, and create solutions to strengthen institutional and staff capacities.
Over the three-year project period, the international team will produce a comprehensive AI Usage Report, develop an interactive AI Maturity Test to help universities evaluate their readiness, and prepare guidelines for risk mitigation to ensure the responsible and ethical use of AI. In addition, the project will compile examples of best practices and practical teaching tasks that demonstrate how AI can support learning in fields such as business, communication, law, and information technology.
One of the project’s major outcomes will be the creation of a new online course for teachers, designed to help educators explore and apply AI tools in their classrooms. Accompanied by a Trainer’s Handbook, this course will support long-term professional development and ensure that the project’s results continue to benefit universities across Europe even after its completion.
Coordinated by Turiba University (Latvia), the project brings together a strong consortium of partners: the University of Maribor (Slovenia), the University of Genoa (Italy), the Fundació Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain), the SMK University of Applied Sciences (Lithuania), and Fachhochschule Aachen (Germany).
Together, these institutions are working towards a common goal - to make European higher education ready for the era of Artificial Intelligence, ensuring that innovation goes hand in hand with ethics, quality, and human-centred learning.
The EHEAII project will run from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2028 and is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.
Co-funded by the European Union - Erasmus+ Programme
Project number: 2025-1-LV01-KA220-HED-000251565
Project team (UniGe):
Prof. Maria Elena De Maestri (DiGi)
Prof. Stefano Dominelli (DiSPI)
Prof. Francesca Maoli (external expert - Università Telematica San Raffaele)
Prof. Francesco Pesce (DiGi - project manager)