The EU AI Act in the Context of Higher Education: Fundamentals for Teaching, Research and Administration

Course content

The course consists of ten modules that build on one another in a structured sequence:

• Unit 1: Foundations: Legal Bases and Key Concepts
  
  
• Unit 2: The AI Act: Content, Development, and Core Concepts
  
  
• Unit 3: Additional Legal Frameworks: GDPR, DSA, and Copyright Law
  
  
• Unit 4: Specific Regulatory Frameworks in the Higher Education Context
  
  
• Unit 5: Data Protection Obligations in Teaching, Administration, and Research
  
  
• Unit 6: AI and Copyright in Everyday Academic Practice
  
  
• Unit 7: Good Scientific Practice and AI
  
  
• Unit 8: Promoting AI Competence Across Campus
  
  
• Unit 9: Stakeholders and Roles in AI Deployment
  
  
• Unit 10: Reliable Information Sources and Updates

Learning goals

Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:

• understand the AI Act as the central European regulatory framework and apply it to the higher education context;

• legally assess higher education–specific requirements in teaching, administration, and research;

• identify risks, obligations, and common misconceptions related to the use of AI;

• establish governance structures, roles, and documentation to ensure audit readiness;

• reflect on and further develop their own institutional practices using case studies.

Prerequisites

Basic knowledge of higher education operations as well as an interest in legal, technical, and ethical issues related to AI are assumed. No specialised legal expertise is required; all relevant terms and concepts are introduced in a clear and accessible manner.

Course schedule

The course is delivered entirely online and can be completed through self-paced study. The modules are thematically aligned and include:

• short, clearly structured learning units,

• concrete examples from everyday higher education practice,

• supplementary interactive elements (interludes), and

• reflection and transfer questions.

Learning time can be scheduled flexibly. The primary focus is on practical application and the direct transfer of knowledge to professional practice.

For actively participating in the course you will receive an automatic confirmation of participation (certificate) which includes your username, the course title, course duration as well as the hours required to complete the course. We want to point out that this certificate merely confirms that the user answered at least 75% of the self-assessment questions correctly.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons - nicht kommerziell 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)