Under the leadership of Professor Blaženka Divjak, PhD, the Faculty of Organization and Informatics (FOI) of the University of Zagreb (UNIZG) has ensured the follow-up of its developmental and research activities related to learning design, learning analytics, and artificial intelligence in education. The project SAILeR – Streamlining AI in Learning Reimagination, with a budget of EUR 400,000 and a duration from November 2025 to November 2028, is the third coordinated project, funded by the EU through the Erasmus+ program, implemented by FOI’s Learning Analytics Laboratory in partnership with renowned European universities.
A significant achievement is that SAILeR ranked first in its category, earning the highest number of points and standing out as the only project from the University of Zagreb accepted in this highly competitive Erasmus+ call, where less than 10% of applications were approved.
In addition to FOI, the project partners include Goethe University Frankfurt (Germany), University of Oulu (Finland), Open University Catalonia (Spain), and University of Groningen (Netherlands). Experts from the Open University (UK), KU Leuven (Belgium), and the Faculty of Medicine at UNIZG will also participate. This project represents both a continuation and extension of collaborations built through the previous Erasmus+ projects iLed – Innovating Learning Design in Higher Education and RAPIDE – Relevant Assessment and Pedagogies for Inclusive Digital Education.
Through the iLed and RAPIDE projects, and in collaboration with international partners, FOI has developed an innovative and freely available learning design tool that can be used in diverse educational contexts - Balanced Design Planning (BDP). Already used in over 40 countries worldwide, the BDP tool enables teachers and other users to plan learning and teaching activities in a structured way, in line with key pedagogical principles and innovative teaching and learning strategies, while integrating contemporary technologies and insights from learning analytics.
The SAILeR project places a special emphasis on the application of artificial intelligence in education and facilitates further development of the BDP tool along with new research initiatives. The goal is to give a new perspective to learning design — starting from study programs and teachers' innovative visions. Meaningful learning design and content creation will be supported through the use of learning analytics and artificial intelligence. However, SAILeR strongly emphasizes the role of teachers as “navigators” steering the process, using the benefits of contemporary technologies purposefully and responsibly. The project aims to engage at least 1,000 educators across Europe and beyond in various ways.
“Contemporary education cannot be implemented in old and “worn out” ways. We have to use technology, including artificial intelligence, but above all, engage human creative potential. The idea is not to reduce teachers’ and students’ cognitive load, which would be detrimental in the long run because they would not develop their cognitive “muscles”, but to support them in using technology to strengthen them.” - Blaženka Divjak, Project Lead
The recognized quality and excellence of this innovative, sustainable, and highly international approach provides a strong incentive for further development of educational innovation.
