Under the leadership of Full Prof. Blaženka Divjak, PhD, Head of Learning Analytics Laboratory at FOI, the project ensures the continuation of strong development and research activities in the fields of learning design, learning analytics, and artificial intelligence in education. The project, worth 400,000 EUR, runs from November 2025 to October 2028 and was ranked first in its category in the Erasmus+ call, among fewer than 10% successful applications, and is also the only project from the University of Zagreb.
The project partners are:
University of Zagreb – FOI (Croatia) – project coordinator
Goethe University Frankfurt (Germany)
University of Oulu (Finland)
Open University of Catalonia – UOC (Spain)
University of Groningen (Netherlands)
International experts from the Open University in the United Kingdom, KU Leuven, and the School of Medicine of the University of Zagreb will also take part in the activities.
The SAILeR project builds on the previous Erasmus+ projects RAPIDE and iLed, through which FOI developed the innovative learning design tool Balanced Design Planning (BDP) (learning-design.eu), now used in more than 40 countries worldwide. The new project will enable further development of BDP by introducing a new perspective on learning design that begins with the vision of a study programme and its aligned courses. Teachers will retain a key role in making pedagogical decisions, while having access to support for meaningful learning design, learning analytics, and an AI-based assistant.
The goal is to engage at least 1,000 teachers, encourage them to reflect on and develop innovative approaches to learning and teaching, and enable the meaningful and responsible human-centred use of learning design, learning analytics, and artificial intelligence.
Kick-off meeting in Varaždin coming soon
Preparatory project activities have already begun, and the next step will be the kick-off and coordination meeting, which will take place on 4 and 5 December 2025 at FOI in Varaždin. Representatives of all partner institutions—long-standing collaborators in previous research and educational initiatives and projects—will participate in the meeting.
During the two-day programme, partners will present their project teams, agree on key project processes and documents, and begin work on the activities within the work packages, with a special focus on the work package Vision of Learning Design. The aim of this work package is to bring learning design closer to teachers by providing an environment for “storytelling,” in which they can create a vision of their learning design as part of the BDP tool.
The SAILeR project represents a significant step forward in European efforts to adapt education to the challenges and opportunities brought by the era of artificial intelligence. Through interdisciplinary work and the involvement of leading international experts, the project will contribute to the creation of ethical, innovative, and technologically advanced pedagogical solutions for the future of higher education.
