DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL COMPETENCIES

Development of Digital Competencies: AI Courses for ENU Faculty and Staff within the AI-Sana Program

The Department of Online Learning at L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University is actively developing not only its library of massive open online courses but also conducting professional development programs for faculty and staff.

One of the key areas of activity is training on the topic “Artificial Intelligence in Science and Education”, aimed at enhancing digital skills and integrating modern technologies into the educational process.

The first cohort of the program, comprising 72 academic hours, was launched in November 2024 and held in a blended format. The course attracted great interest — 238 participants, including university faculty and staff, successfully completed it.

Due to high demand, the second cohort was launched in May 2025, enrolling an additional 235 participants. Moreover, faculty from the “Astana Medical University” also took part in the training, with 12 staff members successfully completing the course.

In October 2025, the third cohort was organized, involving 137 ENU faculty and staff members, including 23 participants from the Medical University of Astana and 5 from Esil University.

Thus, the AI courses have become an important step in developing the digital competencies of educators, fostering the integration of modern technologies into education and science.

The course covered the following key topics:

 

1. Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
2. Modern AI Tools
3. Application of AI for Knowledge Assessment and Language Learning
4. AI Literacy
5.  

The program also included practical assignments such as:

 

1. Assessing the level of digital competencies
2. Creating presentations
3. Generating videos
4. Using AI search engines for scientific research
5. Automatic summarization tools
6. Creating avatar-based videos
7. Developing tests
8. Creating quizzes in Kahoot
9. Creating flashcards in Quizlet
10. Text-to-speech tools

 

All participants who successfully completed both the theoretical and practical components received certificates for a 72-hour course. Upon completion, the program received numerous positive feedbacks from participants.