R&D
Didactics & Technology Research Group Creativity Matters
Head of the research group: researcher Janika Leoste, PhD
Estonian Research Information System (ETIS) EST / ENG
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ONGOING PROJECTS
The Didactic Technologies for IT Education (DITEC) project seeks to redefine IT education in Europe by developing and testing innovative didactic methodologies and technologies that make higher education more relevant, attractive, and future-proof for students, industry, and society. Its main objectives are to strengthen IT didactics, bridge the gap between academia, industry, and end-users, and pilot a new “Innovation in IT Education” course designed as a scalable and adaptable model across Europe. To achieve this, DITEC engages businesses, end-users, educators, and students in co-creation processes, using design sessions, industry roundtables, workshops, surveys, focus groups, and pilot courses to build a holistic model of IT education that is technically strong, socially relevant, and pedagogically innovative. The project will deliver a methodology for continuous collaboration between IT education providers and industry, micro-courses co-designed with stakeholders, a pilot blended-learning course tested in an international boot camp, as well as open-access resources, guidelines, and a replication toolkit for other institutions. These results will not only improve IT education within the consortium but also contribute to a wider European movement for modernizing IT didactics and addressing the continent’s IT skills shortage.
Consortium
- Tallinn University of Technology (Estonia) – Coordinator
- Mainor AS (Estonia)
- University of Nicosia (Cyprus)
- ECECT – European Centre for Emerging Competencies and Technologies (Cyprus)
- Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences (Germany)
- PureSec GmbH (Germany)
Key Information
- Project acronym: DITEC
- Full title: Didactic Technologies for IT Education
- Project code: 2025-1-EE01-KA220-HED-000360808
- Duration: 1 September 2025 – 31 August 2027
- Total budget: €400,000
- Funding: Erasmus+ Programme, European Union
- Project staff in TalTech: Janika Leoste (PI), Voldemar Tomusk, Kristel Marmor, Sirja Sulakatko, Slavko Rakic
The Hybrid Intelligent Assessment System for Inclusive and Ethical GenAI Use in Higher Education (HIAS) project seeks to transform higher education by developing, piloting, and validating a multilingual, module-based assessment system that integrates artificial intelligence in an inclusive, ethical, and pedagogically sound way. By aligning with Estonia’s AI Leap Initiative, the EU Digital Education Action Plan (2021–2027), and the DigComp 3.0 framework, HIAS aims to make assessment more transparent, student-centered, and future-ready. At its core, the project is designed to support self-regulated learning (SRL), enhance fairness and inclusivity in assessment, and create a scalable model that balances the strengths of human and AI co-agency. To achieve these objectives, HIAS actively engages educators, students, and policy actors in co-creation processes that include prototype development, international piloting, usability testing, and learning analytics evaluation. The project outcomes will include a digital assessment tool capable of supporting multilingual and modular use, alongside a governance framework that ensures full compliance with the EU AI Act and maintains strong pedagogical oversight. It will also deliver a comprehensive methodology for embedding SRL strategies, guided by the SOLO taxonomy and aligned with DigComp 3.0 proficiency levels, as well as open resources, guidelines, and policy recommendations that can be replicated across Europe.
Key Information
- Project acronym: HIAS
- Full title: Hybrid Intelligent Assessment System for Inclusive and Ethical GenAI Use in Higher Education
- Duration: 1 September 2025 – 31 August 2027
- Total budget: €152,000
- Funding: Estonian Research Council
- Coordinator: Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech)
- Project staff in TalTech: Slavko Rakic (PI), Janika Leoste, Voldemar Tomusk