Executive Summary
This report provides a comprehensive overview of the five-day professional development programme delivered in cooperation with the Portuguese Ministry of Education, by Dr. Daithí Ó Murchú in Portugal (July 2025) under the AI4EDU ERASMUS+, Forward-Looking Project. Hosted in collaboration with ai4edu.eu, the week consisted of keynotes, webinars, workshops, and hands-on experiences with a focus on AI4EDU tools, particularly Teacher Mate and Study Buddy. The programme engaged policy makers, administrative teams, primary, secondary, and tertiary educators across Portugal, emphasising AI integration in languages, science, arts, music, physical education, and creativity. Each day blended theoretical insights with practical applications, aligning with Erasmus+ priorities on digital transformation, innovation in teaching, and professional development of teachers. The full timetable is included in Appendix A and is referenced throughout.
Introduction
The the AI4EDU ERASMUS+, Forward-Looking Project presentations in Portugal aimed to enhance teacher competence, confidence, and creativity in applying AI within their disciplines. AI4EDU tools, alongside global best practices, were presented and adapted to Portuguese curriculum requirements. The week-long programme sought to: 1. Develop teacher expertise in AI-supported pedagogy. 2. Provide hands-on workshops with Teacher Mate and Study Buddy. 3. Foster collaboration across disciplines and incite debate among policy makers in AI4EDU. 4. Embed UNESCO AI Competency Frameworks for Teachers and Students into practical teaching contexts and explore ethical issues around ‘AIEDU’. 5. Align AI innovations with the Erasmus+ digital education agenda.
Programme Overview
Day 1 – AI4EDU in Physical Education, Arts, and Music
Explored AI4EDU basics and applications in education. – Demonstrations of AI fitness trackers, Fitbod, MyFitnessPal. – Creative workshops with DALL·E, AIVA, Amper Music. – Teachers developed action plans for integrating AI into PE, art, and music classes. – Outcome: Teachers reported greater awareness of AI for creativity and performance monitoring.
Day 2 – AI4EDU for Portuguese Language Teachers
– Focus on Teacher Mate (real-time grammar/style support) and Study Buddy (personalized adaptive learning). – Demonstrated AI for translation, writing support, and language immersion. – Group activity: Lesson plan design integrating AI tools. – Ethical discussions: data privacy, bias, teacher’s guiding role. – Outcome: Teachers co-created curriculum-aligned AI-enhanced lesson plans.
Day 3 – AI4EDU in Science Education
– Explored Labster, PhET simulations, Google AI Experiments, Scratch AI extensions. – Teacher Mate and Study Buddy introduced as scaffolds for personalized inquiry-based science learning. – Group activity: Create a science lesson plan integrating AI tools. – Case studies of AI in biology, chemistry, physics. – Outcome: Teachers left with practical simulations and curriculum mapping for science subjects.
Day 4 – AI4EDU in Primary Education
– Simplified introduction of AI concepts for primary teachers. – Practical workshops: Teacher Mate, Study Buddy, Socrative, Scratch. – Integration into maths (AI tutors), languages (writing support), science (virtual labs), art (AutoDraw). – Teachers co-designed lesson plans for immediate implementation. – Outcome: Confidence boost among primary teachers in adapting AI tools for young learners.
Day 5 – Creativity and Fun: Music, Dance, and Art with AI4EDU
– Playful engagement with Magenta Studio, Move Mirror, DeepArt, Quick, Draw!. – Student-focused creativity: AI music composition, dance choreography, AI-generated art. – Group activity: AI-supported performance combining music, art, and movement. – Ethical reflections on AI in everyday life. – Outcome: Teachers and students co-created performances and artworks, embodying creativity and collaboration.
Outcomes and Impact
– Capacity building: Over 500 teachers and policy makers trained across five days. – Practical adoption: Participants developed lesson plans and action plans ready for classroom use. Others discussed AI policy and strategy documents. – Cross-disciplinary integration: AI applied across PE, arts, music, languages, science, and primary education. – Enhanced AI literacy: Teachers gained critical understanding of ethics, privacy, and inclusivity. Policy makers discussed the integration into strategy and policy development. – Sustainability: Participants were invited to join the AI4EDU community for ongoing collaboration.
Conclusions
The Portugal July 2025 AcademyWeek successfully demonstrated how AI tools such as Teacher Mate and Study Buddy can empower teachers to deliver innovative, personalised, and engaging education. The sessions advanced Erasmus+ objectives of digital transformation and professional excellence while embedding AI within the Portuguese curriculum at multiple levels.
Appendix A – Timetable and Agenda
Day
Theme
Focus Tools
Activities
Outcomes
Day 1
AI4EDU in PE, Arts, Music
Fitbod, MyFitnessPal, DALL·E, AIVA, Amper Music
Keynote + workshops on fitness tracking, AI art, music generation
Action plans for subject integration
Day 2
AI4EDU for Language Teachers
Teacher Mate, Study Buddy, Google Translate
Demonstrations + group lesson design
Curriculum-aligned AI language lessons
Day 3
AI4EDU in Science
Labster, PhET, Scratch AI, Google AI Experiments
Virtual labs, simulations, lesson planning
Practical curriculum mapping
Day 4
AI4EDU in Primary Schools
Teacher Mate, Study Buddy, Socrative,
Hands-on exploration +
Primary-level AI lesson plans
Scratch, AutoDraw
group brainstorming
Day 5
Creativity & Fun – Music, Dance, Art
Magenta Studio, Move Mirror, DeepArt, Quick, Draw!
Student-performances integrating AI tools
Collaborative AI-supported creativity
