Invited Sessions

Elsevier

Using AI and Curated Engineering Knowledge to Develop Information Literacy

As AI becomes increasingly embedded in engineering education, students need more than the ability to generate answers: they must learn to locate trustworthy information, evaluate sources, verify technical data, and apply engineering judgement. This 20-minute demonstration will show how Knovel combines AI-supported discovery with a curated collection of authoritative engineering references to support these information-literacy skills.

Through a live example, attendees will see how Knovel can be used in project-based learning, design assignments, and research activities. The demonstration will focus on comparing candidate materials against design requirements, evaluating relevant material properties, tracing information to trusted handbook sources, and using evidence to justify engineering decisions.

The session will also illustrate how educators can frame AI-supported research activities so that students remain responsible for checking evidence, recognising limitations, and communicating the basis of their decisions. Participants will leave with practical ideas for integrating curated engineering knowledge into teaching and for fostering responsible, evidence-based use of AI in engineering education.
 

Schoolyear

Authentic and secure: How TU Eindhoven is rethinking engineering exams in the age of AI

TU Eindhoven has been rethinking how engineering skills can be assessed reliably as AI changes what unsupervised work can prove. This session follows that journey and explores the choices the university made as it looked for ways to keep assessments both authentic and trustworthy. A practical case for anyone reconsidering what a meaningful engineering exam should look like in the age of AI.
 

3rd Asian Engineering Education Forum at SEFI 2026

Collaborative Engineering Talent Cultivation in Asia: Government-Industry-University Partnership.

Aligned with the conference theme, “Engineering Education for Humanity in a Challenging Word” the Forum will explore how collaboration between universities, industry, government, and society can contribute to developing the next generation of engineers. Through presentations and discussions, participants will gain insights into engineering education developments across Asia, with particular attention to talent development, innovation ecosystems, and partnership models that support sustainable and inclusive growth.

The Forum is organised in collaboration with the Chinese Society of Engineering Education (CSEE) and will feature distinguished speakers from leading institutions across Asia:

• Prof. Zhang Kejun, Zhejiang University (China)
• Prof. Luo Zhiwei, Kobe University (Japan)
• Prof. Dr. Kaliappan Manivannan, RMK Engineering College (India)
• Dr. Christian N. Della, Philippines Society for Engineering Education (Philippines)

Presentations will address a range of topics, including interdisciplinary innovation and design education, industry-academia-government-finance collaboration, engineering talent development at scale, and competency development through government-industry-university partnerships. Drawing on experiences from China, Japan, India, Singapore, and the Philippines, the Forum will provide valuable perspectives on how engineering education institutions are responding to rapidly changing technological and societal needs.

The Asian Engineering Education Forum has become an important platform for strengthening academic exchange between Europe and Asia. By connecting engineering education leaders, researchers, and practitioners from both regions, it contributes to SEFI’s broader mission of advancing engineering education through international collaboration, knowledge sharing, and mutual learning.

More information here.
 

Bentley

Rethinking Education and Assessment in an AI Driven World: A Student-led Complementary Intervention Model for Building Capacity and Capabilities

Speaker: Clément Patrizio (Sorbonne Université)

Generative AI is reshaping how students learn, produce, and are assessed. However, secondary school students are often not prepared for these changes as their teachers have received little or no training on AI. To help bridge this gap, the Lycia Association students' NGO has developed an original intervention model in which engineering students and doctoral students deliver AI literacy development sessions in middle and high schools for students and teachers. 

This workshop aims to help educators better understand how to teach students to: (1) develop a better understanding of generative AI systems; (2) use AI without reducing meaningful cognitive effort; (3) provide feedback that helps students become more resilient and critical users of AI. By combining different pedagogical approaches, student-led scientific mediation, and impact evaluation, this workshop led by Lycia Association’s members, offers a pragmatic model for accelerating AI literacy while supporting teachers during a period of rapid technological change and generating transferable evidence for schools, researchers, and policy makers alike. Through interactive debates and reflective activities, participants will discuss how to promote responsible AI use among younger audiences and explore the risks that may arise when such guidance is lacking. The session combines a short presentation of the Lycia model with case analysis, structured debate, small-group
activities, and guided reflection on risks, responsibilities, and implementation conditions. 

Participants will leave with a transferable framework for student-led scientific mediation, practical ideas for adapting AI-literacy and assessment activities to their institutions, and a shared set of principles, risks, indicators, and research questions. The workshop will also support exchange among educators, researchers, students, and policy stakeholders interested in evidence-informed AI education.
 

Dassault

NOW YOU KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW

How AI + Virtual Twins Are Reshaping Engineering Work—and How Education Must Respond

This keynote explores how AI’s ability to uncover, analyze, and contextualize information reshapes the competence profiles of future engineers.

The practice of engineering is undergoing a profound transformation. AI is not just a tool but a catalyst for awareness—revealing hidden complexities in technical, organizational, and natural systems that were once opaque. The Virtual Twin—a dynamic, AI-powered digital replica of physical systems—is redefining how engineers perceive, analyze, and interact with complexity. For educators, this shift demands a critical question: What should the next generation of engineers know—and how should they learn it?
 

MathWorks

Human-in-the-Loop: How can Generative AI and Agentic AI Enhance Teaching and Learning?

Authors: Warren du Plessis (University of Pretoria) and Marco Rossi (MathWorks Academia Team)

Generative AI (Gen AI) and Agentic AI continue to change how we interact with computers. In engineering, the focus is shifting from manual coding toward a human-in-the-loop framework, where engineers collaborate with AI systems to generate, explore, and refine solutions.

On the one hand, AI tools offer significant opportunities. Lecturers can quickly create instructional content, while students develop new industry-relevant skills such as creating and refining prompts, iterating ideas, and assessing the generated results. On the other hand, the focus may shift from learning to merely producing outcomes. If students rely too heavily on AI-generated outputs, there is a risk that they progress through engineering programmes without mastering foundational concepts required for working on real-world engineered systems. A central question is not whether AI should be used, but what students must still be able to do without it.

This contribution presents a joint perspective from industry and academia. Attendees will learn about available solutions within the AI landscape in MATLAB & Simulink, and how to practically start adopting them in day-to-day tasks. The session will not only focus on specific tools or workflows but will also examine how AI tools can be responsibly integrated into curricula and how industry-academia collaboration can foster a human centric approach to engineering education that prioritizes both innovation and the development of fundamental skills.
 

Special Session: Community building around research career challenges

Organised by: Becky Bergman (Chalmers University of Technology), Homero Murzi (TAMU), Inês Direito (University of Aveiro), Jan Van Maele (KU Leuven) on behalf of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion SIG and Capacity Building SIG

This event will focus on community building for you who have experienced challenges around your chosen research career in recent years. This might be connected to opportunities connected to external factors including but not limited to changes in funding, changes in institutional or organisational priorities, or having to relocate due to personal reasons. The event will not focus explicitly on the political situation in any single country. Instead, it will acknowledge political contexts across the globe, while also making space for other factors that may shape participants’ experiences, including personal circumstances.

There is still room to join! ! If you are attending the SEFI conference in Prague on 6 September, feel free to drop by and participate, even without registering. For online attendance, registration via the link is required,  more information here.