Virtual Mozart, Venture Capital Bot, and Educational Video Generation: How AI is Used at HSE University
In mid-November, HSE University hosted a meetup where faculty, researchers, and administrators presented their projects and shared experiences with using AI technologies in education and research. The meeting was part of the continuing professional development programme 'Artificial Intelligence in Education and Research.'
The 'Artificial Intelligence in Education and Research' project supports the initiatives of university staff aiming to leverage advanced technologies to enhance the quality of education and scientific research. The project is carried out within the framework of the Priority 2030 Strategic Academic Leadership Programme.
Redesigning a Venture Capital Course Using AI Elements
Alexander Semenov, Associate Professor at the School of Finance, Faculty of Economics Sciences, shared his experience using artificial intelligence to redesign a course in Venture Capital. One of the primary goals of using AI was to enhance students' understanding of the financial investment market and innovative business practices.
Alexander Semenov
For this purpose, a virtual assistant was developed based on the psychologist chatbot Anna that interacts with students, helping them answer challenging questions and become more psychologically prepared to engage with investors. The use of this virtual assistant has enhanced the quality of student training and introduced new tools for discussing the psychological aspects of entrepreneurship.
AI Simulacra for a Figital Art Course
Evgeniya Evpak, Research Assistant at the HSE ISSEK Laboratory for Economics of Innovation and visiting lecturer at the HSE Art and Design School, presented a project centred on integrating AI simulacra into a course on figital art.
Evgeniya Evpak
The project’s main idea was to create virtual avatars of historical figures, such as Plato, Jean Baudrillard, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, to facilitate educational dialogues with students. These avatars were created using the Hedra and GigaChat neural networks, enabling the integration of gamification elements into the educational process and the creation of an interactive environment for studying figital art and its theoretical foundations. This approach will not only save time in creating educational video materials but also make learning more engaging for students.
AI Tools for Teaching Foreign Languages
Natalia Ryapina, Senior Lecturer at the School of Foreign Languages, HSE Campus in Perm, shared her experience using AI to teach foreign languages.
Natalia Ryapina
The main focus was on using multimodal AI tools, such as Gamma and EdrawMind, which help adapt educational materials and contribute to their comprehension by students. Generating content in various formats (video, audio, text) using artificial intelligence caters to students with different learning styles, increasing their engagement in the educational process and helping them immerse themselves more deeply in the material.
Integration of AI in Educational Activities
Ksenia Fimina, Senior Lecturer at the HSE School of Applied Mathematics, demonstrated how artificial intelligence can optimise the creation of educational materials.
Ksenia Fimina
In her work, she uses AI tools like Narakeet and Invideo AI, which reduce the time required to create presentation-quality videos by more than tenfold. AI tools offer teachers a wide range of ready-made templates and ideas for visually presenting lecture material, helping make the educational process more engaging and accessible for students. Ksenia Fimina also uses neural network technologies in developing a digital assistant for medical researchers as part of the Smart Medicine project.
Using AI to Examine the Narrative Structure of a Text
Marharyta Fabrykant, Senior Research Fellow at the Expert Institute's Laboratory for Comparative Studies in Mass Consciousness, presented the results of a study on using AI tools to analyse the emotional tone of a text and examine its narrative structure.
Marharyta Fabrykant
The project employed emotional dynamics analysis using the NLTK library to study the ancient epic of Gilgamesh. The study revealed patterns in the emotional structure of the text, confirming hypotheses about the rise and fall of emotional intensity at key moments of the narrative. Marharyta Fabrykant's project demonstrates the potential of using AI technologies for objective analysis of complex texts, which is highly significant for conducting humanities research.
The ‘Artificial Intelligence in Education and Research’ is a continuing professional development programme implemented by the HSE Faculty of Computer Sciences' Continuing Education Centre and the HSE Centre for Staff Continuing Professional Development.
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