AI as a Creative Partner: New Updates from Wittenborg's AIDEA Project

24.07.2026

Robert Muster Shares how AIDEA is Building a New Curriculum for Design Education

Artificial intelligence should not replace human intelligence. It should expand it.

That was one of the central ideas shared by Robert Muster, Senior Lecturer at Wittenborg and Lead Researcher for the Erasmus+ AIDEA (Artificial Intelligence for a New Design Education Approach) project, during Wittenborg's recent Research Centre meeting ahead of the European summer break.

The update reflected on two important milestones for the project: Wittenborg's Industry & Academic Focus Group Meeting and AI Workshop on 30 April and Muster's presentation at the 74th Pan-European Conference on Digital Education on 28 May.

Rather than presenting AI as simply another educational technology, Muster argued that it offers an opportunity to rethink education itself.

His conference presentation, Everyone is a Teacher, Everyone is a Learner: Orchestrating Intelligence in the AI Era, challenged traditional assumptions about teaching and learning. As information becomes instantly accessible, he suggested, the role of educators shifts away from delivering knowledge towards orchestrating intelligence.

One of the presentation's central ideas was that, as AI makes knowledge increasingly accessible, the value of education lies less in providing answers and more in asking better questions.

Muster argued that learning is becoming less about traditional classrooms and more about connected networks where expertise is shared, curiosity drives discovery and educators guide rather than simply instruct.

Research first

AIDEA is a three-year Erasmus+ collaboration that aims to develop a new curriculum for design education where artificial intelligence works alongside human creativity rather than replacing it.

According to Muster, the consortium has now completed Work Package 2, establishing the current state of AI in design education through literature reviews, business ecosystem mapping and stakeholder consultation.

"In WP2 we developed the state-of-the-art situation in business and literature, and identified the needs for the new curriculum."

The research included a comprehensive literature review, mapping businesses and design agencies across partner countries and collecting more than 110 industry responses, exceeding the project's original target. Wittenborg also led the pedagogical strand of the literature review alongside partners from the University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in North Macedonia.

The project identified several recurring themes. AI should function as a creative partner rather than a replacement, while critical thinking, ethics, human judgement and responsible AI use become even more important as technology advances. The research also highlighted an emerging "AI divide", where differences in access to AI tools and AI literacy could increasingly shape educational and professional opportunities.

Building the curriculum

With the research phase complete, the consortium is now moving into Work Package 3, where partners will begin developing the new curriculum.

"In WP3 we will focus on developing the new curriculum and in WP4 we will apply and test it."

One of the project's most ambitious elements will come during its final phase: a pre-incubator where students from across Europe will develop business ideas using what Muster describes as the three intelligences of design, the intelligence of the hand, social intelligence and artificial intelligence.

"We will also develop a pre-incubator in the final stage of the project which will enable the application of the new curriculum and will allow students to develop their business ideas using the three intelligences in design: hand, social and AI."

The student projects will later be showcased through an international exhibition and conference involving all project partners.