AI School Prize, further training for teachers and holiday camps: We asked Kai Erik Trost how aim Heilbronn advocates the competent and courageous use of artificial intelligence in schools.
Mr. Trost, in January 2026, the Dieter Schwarz Foundation awarded the AI School Prize for the first time. You are the head of the “AI in Education” competence center at the non-profit educational institution aim and were involved in the jury’s work. Which prize-winning school stood out the most to you?
Kai Erik Trost: The Gifhorn vocational school surprised us with its virtual sports hall. Since it doesn’t have its own sports hall, it makes a virtue of necessity and simulates physical education lessons with the help of AI and VR headsets. Of course, we should all want physical education classes to actually take place in a sports hall. So the concept isn’t a blueprint for other schools. But it shows how artificial intelligence doesn’t have to be at odds with traditional teaching, but instead can enhance it in a creative and meaningful way. With this pragmatic and solution-oriented concept, the vocational school made it onto the shortlist in the “AI sub-concept” category.
In this case, you have recognized a particularly innovative way of using AI. Are there any other approaches that you consider worthy of an award?
Trost: There is a second category in which overall school concepts are honored. These are schools that already use AI holistically or strategically. These schools use AI in the classroom and in lesson preparation, have developed a data protection concept and have addressed the matter of AI ethics. They also use artificial intelligence in school administration or school management. The Carl-Fuhlrott-Gymnasium in Wuppertal won in this category with its far-reaching concept. Here, teachers develop their own didactic AI agents, there are prompting competitions and the tools “Fobizz” and “Classtime” are used to analyze learning progress and create teaching materials.
Kai Erik Trost heads the “AI in Education” competence center at the Academy for Innovative Education and Management Heilbronn-Franken (aim). He studied Business Informatics (B.Sc.) and Electronic Media (M.A.) at the Stuttgart Media University and earned his doctorate in Media Studies at the University of Passau. After working in management consulting and as institute coordinator at the Institute for Digital Ethics at the Stuttgart Media University, he moved to aim Heilbronn. His areas of expertise are digital ethics with a focus on artificial intelligence and digital media.
Does such a prize influence the education system?
Trost: The AI School Prize motivates schools to get creative, try out new technologies and develop concepts. There are no uniform strategies in our federal education system. If the digital transformation is to succeed, the change must come from the schools. Don’t wait, just do it! Anything else takes far too long.
What is aim’s stance on “digital transformation”?
Trost: We want to drive it forward! We want to empower young people to educate themselves – but we don’t act at a political level; instead, we address teachers directly. As a training academy, we have a great deal of leverage: For example, if we train 100 school principals in strategic school development with a focus on AI, this has a wide reach, as principals in particular act as multipliers. But that certainly doesn’t mean that we leave the students out.
What do you offer children?
Trost: Our philosophy is to create an offer that complements school lessons – for example, through junior academies for gifted children and young people or in our practice-oriented holiday academies, which provide valuable input, especially for pupils with difficult educational biographies. We also offer programming and STEM courses for 11- to 16-year-olds in the greater Heilbronn area, which are not part of the school curriculum. Because aim is a non-profit organization and is fully funded by the Dieter Schwarz Foundation, these courses are free of charge for participants.
The schools that have been awarded the AI prize are currently leading examples. Other schools have concerns about data protection and legal certainty. How do you counter such reservations?
Trost: The concerns are understandable and should be taken seriously. At the same time, I would say that waiting doesn’t create legal certainty. When it comes to AI, safety comes from tried-and-tested applications and building up expertise, not through avoidance. Schools cannot wait until there is complete legal certainty before they start using new technologies. We see this with smartphones. New technologies must be tested pedagogically at an early stage while legal guidelines are being developed. A great deal is achieved when people in schools use the tools in an ethical and socially responsible manner.
Do you strengthen teachers in this respect with your training programs?
Trost: Yes, we have many courses in the field of AI ethics. We want people to understand what they are doing. We want teachers to know how to use AI responsibly in the classroom and be sensitized to topics such as data protection and digital sovereignty. But we also want to show them use cases and encourage them to use AI productively in the classroom. The goal is reflective, responsible use that, in an ideal scenario, is innovative and gives students a positive view of the future. We believe that this is particularly beneficial for children and young people with educational disadvantages.
The AI School Prize is awarded every two years. In cooperation with aim, the Deutsche Telekom Foundation and “Germany. Land of Ideas”, the Dieter Schwarz Foundation awards the prize to schools that use AI in innovative ways. The next AI School Prize will be awarded in 2027.
How exactly? Can you give some examples?
Trost: For example, there are AI tools that work in a language-sensitive way. They can simplify tasks, translate them into the children’s native language or formulate math word problems in a way that is easier for the children to understand. Our vision is for all children and young people to make the most of their educational opportunities. AI can be a great help with this.
AI applications are constantly evolving and will play an increasingly important role in education. Will the AI sector also continue to grow at aim?
Trost: Yes, in addition to the focus on artificial intelligence, the “AI in Education” competence center is also strengthening other focal areas, such as value formation and building resilience – keyword: social media ban. Digital games will also be given more space. These are particularly suitable for people whose native language is not German. We are currently testing various possibilities in this area.
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