How AI Pioneers Are Changing Day-to-Day Work at the University
Image: University of Kassel.The AI Working Groups are protected spaces for experimentation where staff members collaborate to develop AI applications. This participatory, bottom-up approach yields concrete tools that sustainably improve processes at the university and reduce the administrative burden on employees. Areas of application include, among others, export control, degree program development, and third-party funding management. Many of the solutions developed also have the potential to be used at other universities and in public institutions.
So far, four rounds of AI FrAltage have taken place at the university. What makes this format unique is that the pilot groups see themselves as AI pioneers. Many of them have never programmed before and initially feel distant from IT. What they do bring to the table, however, is a specific problem from their daily work and the vision of solving it with the help of AI.
We asked four of our AI pioneers why they find the AI FrAltage so enriching. Here, we present their experiences in short interviews.
Interviews
What excites you most about the discussions at the AI-FrAItage events?
What excites me about the KI-FrAItage events is that they bring together people who would otherwise rarely cross departmental boundaries—and at the end of the day, they walk away with concrete tools, not just vague intentions. Administration turns into creation—all without a program document or project proposal.
What makes KI-FrAItage a special format for you?
It’s neither a training session nor a workshop: You come in with pain points and leave with prototypes. But that only works if you bring curiosity and a playful spirit—you learn by building, not by looking at presentation slides.
Was there a moment or insight from the AI Fridays that changed your work?
That moment when, out of curiosity, I fed a module handbook into the AI and asked for an analysis—and in the blink of an eye received a solid, if not flawless, evaluation. That was my “aha” moment.
How do the AI-FrAItage days help position the university for the future?
They show that AI expertise doesn’t come from IT or from outside, but can emerge within the administration itself—when domain knowledge, time, and a space for experimentation come together. It’s precisely this bottom-up approach that complements strategy papers by providing something they themselves cannot deliver: concrete implementation.
If you had to describe the AI Fridays in one sentence—what would it be?
A simple formula: workload + expertise × time = truly helpful tools.
Heiko Wolf is the group leader for quality development and accreditation procedures in the Department of Studies and Teaching. During the AI Fridays, he helped develop a chatbot that checks whether new degree program concepts comply with legal and accreditation requirements.
What excites you most about the discussions at the AI Student Days?
What I love about the AI FrAltage event is that we weren’t just given ready-made tools; instead, we were able to develop our own solutions based on specific problems and challenges. I found the interaction with the others particularly valuable: If a bot was already at a more advanced stage or someone else had already encountered a GitLab issue, we were able to provide each other with very practical support.
What makes the KI-FrAltage a special format for you?
The AI Hack Days create a space where you can experiment, fail, make adjustments, and think ahead—without everything having to be perfect from the start. What’s special for me is the combination of good external guidance and plenty of freedom to come up with solutions and find the right paths on my own.
Was there a moment or insight from the AI FrAltage that changed your work?
For me, my perspective on development processes has changed the most: I’ve learned that even without a traditional IT background, you can go very far if you have a clear goal, good guidance, and a supportive group. Seeing how a custom GPT approach using GitLab and Open WebUI could be turned into a functioning bot was a very motivating learning experience for me.
How do the AI-FrAltage events help prepare the university for the future?
The AI-FrAItage help not only to build AI expertise in specific areas but also to integrate it into the university’s day-to-day operations. They foster a culture in which the administration doesn’t just react to technical developments but actively shapes them in a thoughtful manner, with an eye toward quality, reducing workload, and accountability.
If you had to describe the AI-FrAItage in one sentence—what would it be?
For me, the AI-FrAItage are a hands-on experimental space where curiosity, exchange, and structured experimentation give rise to concrete ideas for a sustainable administration.
Nina Felgen has developed a chatbot that explains export control regulations to researchers and administrative staff in an accessible, case-specific manner. She is a consultant for national research funding at the Research Services department of the University of Kassel.
What excites you about the exchange at the AI FrAItage events?
We don’t just want to use chatbots and agent-based AI—we also want to know how effective they actually are. That’s why we’re developing a benchmark that can also be made available to other universities and chatbot operators. What excites me most is the opportunity to discuss, test, and further develop technologies directly with users, while truly understanding their tasks and challenges.
What makes the AI-FrAItage a special format for you?
Research and administration rarely work together this closely. This gives us, as researchers who otherwise tend to work more theoretically, new insights and a real connection to practical applications, while also driving innovation for the university of tomorrow.
Was there a moment or insight from the AI Fridays that changed your work?
Above all, the first sessions with the teams from business travel, support staff, and third-party funding. Understanding how they work, what their daily to-do lists look like, and which tasks can be exciting or sometimes monotonous has shown me where we can specifically help and make improvements.
How do the KI-FrAItage help prepare the university for the future?
They make the university fit for the future with a robust, transparent, and digital administration.
If you had to describe the AI-FrAItage in one sentence—what would it be?
Motivated people who collaborate effectively and help one another shape the work of tomorrow.
Simon Ruth supports the AI-FrAItage from an academic perspective. He is a research assistant specializing in web and multimodal technologies at the Institute for Information Technology Design (ITeG).
What excites you about the discussions at the AI FrAltagen?
The meetings were exceptionally well-organized, which allowed us to work very efficiently and purposefully in a short amount of time. I was particularly impressed by the open dialogue among the participants. Different perspectives and experiences were shared, which led to new ideas and enabled us to immediately develop concrete solutions.
What makes the KI-FrAltage a special format for you?
By bringing together experts from different fields and focusing on practical applications, we were able to develop helpful and application-oriented AI tools in a short amount of time. The combination of professional exchange, collaborative problem-solving, and direct implementation makes the format particularly valuable.
Was there a moment or insight from the AI FrAltage that changed your work?
With a well-developed chatbot, employees will be relieved of handling simple questions in the future, freeing up more time for complex issues and personalized advice.
How do the AI FrAltage help position the university for the future?
The AI FrAltage promote the competent and efficient use of new technologies and create space for innovation.
If you had to describe the AI Days in one sentence—what would it be?
The AI Days are an inspiring format that brings people, ideas, and technologies together to jointly develop innovative and practical solutions for the university’s future.
Claudia Heller is an administrative assistant in the Third-Party Funding Management department. As part of the AI FrAltage, she is helping to develop a chatbot that provides accessible, case-specific answers to questions about the financial management of third-party funded projects.