AI-assistance to be integrated in Romanian schools and universities.
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Hey there! Let's dive into the latest collaboration between Digital Nation and Romania's Ministry of Education and Research. They're teaming up to roll out an AI-powered tool called Saro in schools and universities nationwide. This bad boy is designed to help students, teachers, and staff tackle chief issues like school dropouts, excessive bureaucracy, dwindling motivation, personalized learning, and low attendance.
So, what can students expect from this AI-buddy? Well, every morning, they might find themselves chatting about weekly plans or critical academic events, thanks to a project briefing. Sounds cool, right?
In the first phase, a group of around 1,200 students and pupils will test, develop, and use Saro throughout the initial year. The goal here is to boost attendance, enhance academic performance, and lower dropout rates.
Phase two is all about scaling. Based on the results from the pilot and research, this phase aims to expand the utilization of Saro far and wide, targeting as many students and pupils as possible.
Teachers, often overburdened with administrative work and large class sizes, will also find relief in Saro. This AI assistant can help ease their workload by providing updated, pertinent information about students and spotlighting those most in need of support.
Saro interacts seamlessly with institutional platforms such as online gradebooks and monitors daily interactions on learning platforms. It engages users through voice messages and visual content to assess and lend a hand in boosting their motivation levels.
Initially developed in Romania by Digital Nation, following an initial investment of USD 150,000, Saro is now being enhanced with a USD 700,000 grant from Google.org. The team is currently working on an improved version, chock-full of expanded functionalities, tailored for large-scale implementation across Romania's education system.
Saro was first piloted through the Generația Tech program with 1,900 young people and adults. Significant improvements were observed: participants who engaged with Saro completed 28% more assignments, and attendance at extracurricular events introduced by Saro skyrocketed by 89%. To date, nearly 20,000 messages have been exchanged between participants and Saro.
According to Education Minister Daniel David, technology can either be a boon or a bane, depending on how we wield it. He emphasized that students and the overall educational environment must remain anchored to the technology of the current industrial revolution. The ministry plans to support high-quality, cutting-edge collaborations that attach Romanian education to this new industrial era, always within a moral, ethical, and secure framework.
Google Romania's Country Director, Elisabeta Moraru, believes AI has the potential to make significant contributions across all areas of Romanian society, with education standing to be one of its greatest beneficiaries. She expressed pride in supporting the most significant step in integrating AI into Romania's education system, a groundbreaking, locally developed initiative.
Founder of Digital Nation, Paul Apostol, expressed excitement about the opportunity to provide ultra-personalized support to hundreds of thousands—if not millions—of students via Saro. This project, driven by a complex technological framework with over 20 highly specialized AI models, strives to address the urgent need to boost student motivation and attention by adapting the educational process to each learner's pace and interests.
Digital Nation, an organized hub for tech enthusiasts, runs several programs, including Generația Tech (offering free digital skills training to over 10,700 Romanians aged 16 to 65), Profesor în Online (with more than 40,000 teachers trained in digital competencies), and others.
Stay tuned for more updates on the Saro project and Digital Nation's endeavors in transforming Romanian education through artistic intelligence! 🤖📚🔥
(Photo: Digital Nation)
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In this collaborative initiative between Digital Nation and Romania's Ministry of Education and Research, students can anticipate leveraging artificial-intelligence-powered technology, Saro, to facilitate personalized learning, tackle issues such as dropouts, and boost their academic performance in online-education settings. Furthermore, the integration of Saro in Romania's education system aims to empower teachers with AI support for easing workload and identifying students in need of assistance, thereby promoting education-and-self-development opportunities for all.
