Filipe Portela

Invited Professor at Minho University & IOTech CEO
Generative AI in Higher Education: A professor's partner or a threat?

Abstract

The proliferation of Generative AI (GAI) in higher education has sparked a debate on its impact. While students view GAI as a valuable resource for assistance with their assignments, many professors perceive it as a potential threat to academic integrity and the traditional teaching process. But is this perspective justified?

This talk aims to provide an overview of how GAI can benefit educators. We will explore how professors can leverage GAI as a collaborative tool, particularly in areas such as coding project assessments. By integrating GAI effectively, educators can improve their work, accelerate results, or create content for the classes. It can also enhance the quality of student projects and better anticipate using GAI in academic work. Ultimately, we will have an open discussion about whether improving students' learning and mitigating overreliance on GAI is feasible.


Bio

Carlos Filipe Portela graduated from the University of Minho, where he earned a master's in engineering and management of information systems and a PhD in Technologies and Information Systems. He is an integrated researcher at the Algoritmi Research Centre and a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Minho's School of Engineering, where he teaches and supervises students in the area of information systems.

Filipe Portela has published more than 200 articles on topics such as artificial intelligence, decision support systems, gamification, pervasive systems, business intelligence, data mining, and knowledge discovery in databases. He holds a Data Science patent and leads several Research, Development, and Innovation (R&D&I) projects.

As an editor and author, Filipe Portela has written three technical books, edited three scientific books, and edited ten journal special issues. He has also chaired and co-organized workshops and conferences and served on editorial boards of scientific journals.

In 2018, he founded IOTech—Innovation on Technology, focusing on applying technical-scientific knowledge to benefit society. As the Executive Director and Director of Innovation and R&D, he spearheads the development of transformative technologies and solutions for industry and cities. He is also the vice president of AEBA—Associação Empresarial do Baixo Ave, in charge of Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence.