Universities and industry explored together how to respond to AI’s growing impact on education, research and work.
How can universities and industry respond together as AI transforms education, research and the way we work? This conversation continued in Budapest on 21–22 October at the international V4AI in Higher Education workshop, hosted by the Faculty of Informatics at ELTE.
For evosoft, the event was a great opportunity to join lecturers, researchers and students from universities across the Visegrad region as an invited industry partner. We also invited our AI Phase partners from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) to join us and bring another international perspective to the discussions.
The workshop continued a dialogue that is already familiar to us. Earlier this year, in January, evosoft hosted a professional workshop in Budapest focusing on AI and higher education. This time, the discussion moved to a wider international stage.
What does it mean to use AI well?
The answer is not necessarily to choose a newer or bigger AI model. The environment in which AI operates can be just as important.
This was one of the key ideas behind Kiss Bence’s presentation, “AI is turning all of us into leaders.” Clear goals, the right context, and a well-designed technical and development environment can strongly influence the quality of AI results.
Bence demonstrated this through practical examples. RAG can provide AI with better context. LocalAI makes AI available in situations where cloud solutions are not an option. In AI-driven software engineering, well-designed processes and controls can make AI use both more effective and safer. TARS takes this idea further by combining 14 specialised agents and more than 90 reusable skills into an AI-powered software team.
But technology alone is not enough. Skilled AI professionals and developers are just as important: people who understand the technology, know how to prompt effectively, think critically and can see the entire process rather than only individual AI outputs.
The international discussions were also an encouraging confirmation for us: evosoft’s AI knowledge is current and competitive, and our experts have relevant practical experience to bring to the international professional conversation.
From LocalAI to BOB: turning ideas into experience
We did not only bring ideas to the conference. We also brought some of our own AI solutions.
Zsolt Csatári and Tamás Király presented evosoft’s LocalAI solution through an interactive demonstration, showing how locally running AI can turn the technology into something tangible and practical.
And, of course, Bókoló BOB, our small AI-powered robot, joined us too. Once again, BOB became one of the most popular attractions and drew plenty of interest from participants. 🤖
Those who wanted to go one step further could also take part in a mini hackathon and experiment with the technology themselves. Because sometimes the best way to understand AI is not simply to talk about it, but to try it.
Different countries, shared questions
One of the most inspiring parts of V4AI was the opportunity to explore the same challenges from different perspectives.
Together with universities, researchers and industry professionals from several countries, we discussed topics shaping the relationship between AI and higher education today: LLMs, AI-based educational tools, institutional AI readiness, responsible AI use, and the changing roles of students, lecturers and researchers.
It was valuable to see where other European universities stand today, what already works and what we still need to figure out together.
Universities bring educational and research perspectives. Industry brings hands-on experience and real development environments. Real progress starts when these perspectives meet.
That is the conversation we want to continue, while also building AI, testing it and making it tangible. 🎓🤖🤝
