TURKU, August 2026 — From 12th to 14th August 2026, the European consortium of the Erasmus+ Teacher Academy Project AI2PI – From Artificial Intelligence to Pedagogical Innovation met at the University of Turku, Finland, for its Summer Meeting. Bringing together partners from across the consortium, the three-day meeting provided an opportunity to review progress, deepen collaboration across work packages, and jointly shape the next phase of the AI2PI Teacher Academy.

From research insights to implementation

The meeting opened with an overview of the project’s current insights and progress across the work packages. Particular attention was given to the transition from the project’s initial exploration phase towards the development and integration of the AI2PI training modules. Partners discussed the next steps for the teacher survey, quality assurance, and the development of blended learning modules addressing foundational knowledge, technical skills, ethical practice, pedagogical integration, and professional practice. Across the sessions, the connections between the different work packages became increasingly visible. Discussions focused not only on individual outputs, but also on how research findings, competence development, training materials, evaluation, and dissemination can work together to support the project's overall objectives.

From teachers’ needs to a needs-based curriculum

One of the key discussions in Turku focused on how the AI2PI Teacher Academy can respond to the different needs, experiences, and professional contexts of teachers across Europe. Rather than developing one curriculum for a single, homogeneous group of learners, the AI2PI approach starts from the diversity of its target group. Drawing on the project’s design-based research methodology, data from the seven partner countries is being used to identify different patterns of experience, knowledge, attitudes, and needs related to AI in education. This process is helping the consortium move from research findings to a more tailored curriculum. The pilot survey data is first analysed to identify groups of teachers with similar professional development needs. These groups are then translated into Teacher Personas, providing the project team with concrete profiles that represent the diversity of the AI2PI target audience across the seven countries and across pre-service and in-service education. The personas then become a practical tool for shaping the curriculum. By prioritising the learning outcomes that matter most for each profile, the project can explore which combination of learning modules can provide the greatest benefit across different groups of teachers. This process ultimately helps determine which modules are most relevant to which target groups, as well as the requirements that should guide their development — from entry level and language considerations to technical requirements and the depth of subject-specific content. The approach is designed to result in a flexible set of twelve learning modules, organised into learning pathways that respond to different learner profiles. A further simulation explored how the curriculum could be adapted for specific groups, such as school leaders, demonstrating how the same evidence-based approach can support different professional needs. The modules themselves follow a shared pedagogical architecture. Each module begins by identifying learners’ starting points, before introducing a topic through a narrative or scenario. Learners then explore key themes through hands-on activities and supporting materials, consolidate their learning through quizzes, and receive a summary from the teaching perspective. The module concludes by inviting feedback from learners themselves. In this way, the curriculum development process connects research, teachers’ needs, learning outcomes, and practical learning experiences. Rather than treating curriculum development as a one-time process, AI2PI is using evidence and iterative development to build learning opportunities that can respond to the diversity of educators working with AI across Europe.

Building a European Community of Practice

An important discussion point was the development of the AI2PI Community of Practice. The WP4 team presented the current web-based community infrastructure and the communication ecosystem that has been established around the project, including the AI2PI website, LinkedIn, YouTube, and eTwinning. The consortium discussed how these channels can move beyond dissemination and become spaces for meaningful participation, knowledge exchange, and collaboration between educators and partners across Europe. Particular attention was given to the role of eTwinning as a space for community building, resource sharing, and interaction, as well as to questions surrounding the future structure of the community, including European and country-specific spaces, topic-based discussions, and cross-country networking. The discussion also highlighted the importance of connecting dissemination activities with the real experiences and needs of educators. Through initiatives such as the podcast episodes AI2PI Voices, dissemination of educational content, educators’ interviews, and future community activities, the project is developing new ways to make AI literacy accessible and relevant to teachers and teacher educators.

Connecting AI2PI with educational practice

A key element of the Summer Meeting was the opportunity to connect the consortium’s work with local educational practice. On the last day, partners travelled to Salo to visit Hermannin koulu primary school, where they had the opportunity to experience the local school context and discuss how a Teacher Academy can support educators in navigating the opportunities and challenges presented by artificial intelligence. This change of perspective—from project development to the realities of educational practice—provided important impulses for the consortium’s ongoing work and reinforced the importance of developing AI literacy approaches that are grounded in teachers’ experiences and needs.

Shaping the next steps together

The Summer Meeting concluded with discussions on future activities, responsibilities, piloting, quality assessment, dissemination, and sustainability. Partners identified concrete next steps for the coming months and continued to strengthen the connections between the project’s work packages. The meeting in Turku therefore represented an important step in AI2PI’s development towards actively developing, testing, and connecting its outputs with educators across Europe. Through continued collaboration, research, community building, and engagement with educational practice, the consortium is moving closer to its shared goal of empowering educators to critically and responsibly engage with artificial intelligence in education.