Seminar on Generative AI for Education
Saarland University — Winter Semester 2025
The course will provide an overview of state-of-the-art research on leveraging generative AI to enhance education. We will cover a broad set of research topics inspired by the NeurIPS'23 workshop we organized (workshop link: https://gaied.org/neurips2023/). The course consists of the following components: (i) research papers, (ii) project, and (iii) final presentation. Further details about the course structure and logistics are provided below.

Organizers

Timeline and Updates

  • Until end of September 2025: Register for the seminar course at https://seminars.cs.uni-saarland.de.
  • 20 October 2025: We have a new mailing list for the course. To reach out to organizers/tutors, you should send an email to gaied-w25-tutors@mpi-sws.org (instead of contacting via individual emails).
  • 27 October 2025: Paper assignments for reading and writing reports are finalized by this date. The list of papers is provided below and split into three batches (Batch-A, Batch-B, and Batch-C). You can pick any one paper in a batch for writing reports, i.e., reports for a total of 3 papers.
  • 28 October 2025: We will conduct an online office-hour session on 28 October (Tuesday) 2025, 5-6pm. Details are sent out to enrolled students via email.
  • Until 17 November 2025: After being allocated a slot in the seminar, you will have to register for the seminar course examination in the LSF at Saarland University. You should register for the seminar course examination by 17 November 2025; this is also the deadline to withdraw by emailing us. If the LSF registration is not possible for you (e.g., as a visiting student or another department), you can confirm your participation by directly emailing us.
  • 03 November 2025: Reports for Batch-A papers are due. You can pick any one paper in this batch for writing report.
  • 10 November 2025: Reports for Batch-B papers are due. You can pick any one paper in this batch for writing report.
  • 17 November 2025: Reports for Batch-C papers are due. You can pick any one paper in this batch for writing report.
  • 24 November 2025: Project proposals are due by this date.
  • 08 December 2025: Project details will be finalized by this date.
  • 09 February 2026: Project report and material are due.
  • Between 16 February to 20 March 2026: Final presentations will take place. The exact dates will be finalized in discussion with enrolled students. Slides will be due before the presentation date.

Overview of Course Structure

The course consists of the following main components:
  • Research papers: During the first three weeks, students will read research papers and write a short report for each paper. This component carries one-sixth of the final score.
  • Project proposals: During the next three weeks, students will submit project proposals and pick a concrete project in discussions with tutors. This component carries one-sixth of the final score.
  • Project: During the second half of the semester, students will work on a project. This component carries one-third of the final score.
  • Final presentation: At the end of the semester, students will give a presentation based on the project, along with relevant research papers related to your project. This component carries one-third of the final score.
There will be no weekly classes. When needed, the tutors will arrange specific meeting times during the semester — further information will be communicated to enrolled students via emails as we move along in the semester. You can reach out to us anytime by sending an email to gaied-w25-tutors@mpi-sws.org.

Important Note: Your submissions (i.e., reports, proposals, project, and presentation) should be based on work done individually by you. Moreover, you should appropriately acknowledge and credit any resources used in preparation of your submissions (e.g., online tutorials, generative AI tools, or any peers who helped you). You should provide this information at the end of your reports under an Acknowledgements section.

Detailed Instructions

Reading research papers and writing reports

  • Each student has to write reports for a total of 3 papers. The list of papers is provided below and split into three batches (Batch-A, Batch-B, and Batch-C). You can pick any one paper in a batch for writing report.
  • For each of the picked papers, you will have to write a two-page report. The timeline for report submissions is listed above.
  • Each report should be submitted as a PDF file by sending an email to gaied-w25-tutors@mpi-sws.org. You should name your PDF files as lastname_paper#.pdf (e.g., lastname_paperA1.pdf, lastname_paperB7.pdf, and so on).
  • Reports should be written in LaTeX using the following NeurIPS style files.
  • In case you are unfamiliar with writing reports in LaTeX, we recommend using Overleaf (an online LaTeX editor).
  • Structure the report into three sections as follows:
    • In the first section, write down a review of the paper, including a short summary of the paper, a discussion on how the paper extends state of the art, and the main strengths of the paper.
    • In the second section, write down the main weaknesses of the paper and discuss how this paper could be improved.
    • In the third section, write down your ideas on how you would like to extend the techniques and results in the paper. If you wish, you could also use these ideas to pursue as part of your project.
  • You can provide Acknowledgements by adding a section \section*{Acknowledgements} in the LaTeX source.
  • These reports will correspond to one-sixth of the final score.

Project proposals

  • The project will be centered around the seminar theme of generative AI for education. Students will have the freedom to pursue a project of their choice. To begin, each student will submit project proposals; the timeline for proposal submissions is listed above. The project proposals could be related to the seminar papers, or could also be new directions you are most excited about.
  • Based on your project proposals and discussions with tutors, a concrete project will be picked.
  • This component will correspond to one-sixth of the final score.

Project

  • You will have to submit a project report and related material (e.g., code, app, or survey). Each student will work on the project separately (no teams).
  • The project will correspond to one-third of the final score.

Presentations

  • You will prepare a presentation of about 25 minutes. Your presentation will be based on the project, along with relevant research papers related to your project.
  • At the end of the semester, you will give a final presentation. These final presentations will be mandatory to complete the course. We will block time spread across two days for the presentations. The exact dates will be finalized in discussion with enrolled students.
  • The slides and presentation will correspond to one-third of the final score.

List of Research Papers

Batch-A

Reports for Batch-A papers are due on 03 November 2025. You can pick any one paper in this batch for writing report. Please download the PDF files from the specific links provided below to avoid confusion about different versions.

Batch-B

Reports for Batch-B papers are due on 10 November 2025. You can pick any one paper in this batch for writing report. Please download the PDF files from the specific links provided below to avoid confusion about different versions.

Batch-C

Reports for Batch-C papers are due on 17 November 2025. The set of research papers in this batch cover more recent results published in 2025/26 conferences. You can pick any one paper in this batch for writing report. Please download the PDF files from the specific links provided below to avoid confusion about different versions.


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