The conference once again brought together numerous stakeholders from research and teaching in the field of engineering and vocational education and offered a valuable platform for exchanging ideas on the application of digital and AI-supported human-machine systems in technical education. Key topics included the changing work requirements for specialists and managers in digitalized and AI-supported working environments, the integration of innovative technologies and AI in teaching and learning processes and the resulting challenges and opportunities for teachers. The department was represented by Professor Matthias Haack (head of department), Christopher Krüger (research assistant) and Mirco Strittmatter (student assistant), who contributed to the professional exchange with two presentations.

In view of the increasing integration of cyber-physical systems into industrial production, the demands on the skills of skilled workers in technical companies are increasing, so vocational school teachers are needed to promote these skills during initial and continuing vocational training. For this reason, the presentation "Project seminar on the topic of Industry 4.0 in the vocational education master's program" (Christopher Krüger, Matthias Haack) presented a subject-didactic seminar concept that aims to further develop skills in the context of Industry 4.0 among future vocational school teachers in the fields of metal and electrical engineering. The seminar is currently being held as part of the "Vocational Education - Specialization in Metal and Electrical Engineering" master's program at the University of Kassel.

In the presentation "Vocational education for sustainable development in dual training occupations in wood technology and the construction industry: A comparative analysis of the framework curricula" (Mirco Strittmatter, Matthias Haack), the results of an analysis of the anchoring of sustainability aspects in the framework curricula of dual training occupations in wood technology and the construction industry were presented and compared with the results from the vocational fields of metal and electrical engineering.