GAIA – Individuelle Lernpfade durch KI
GAIA (Generative Artificial Intelligence Agent) is a project of the University of Göttingen: We are developing an AI-powered personal tutor that accompanies students individually in their learning.
Together with GWDG, we combine AI technology with didactic development: compliant with data protection regulations, accessible, and tailored to the needs of a diverse student body.
The student body at universities is becoming increasingly diverse, with varying prior knowledge, learning speeds, and language skills. Traditional teaching formats can only partially meet these individual needs. At the same time, students are increasingly using AI tools such as general chatbots without any didactic framework.
This is where GAIA comes in: As a university-owned AI tutor, GAIA offers a reliable, privacy-compliant, and pedagogically grounded alternative. Our goal is to harness the potential of artificial intelligence for higher education, opening up new possibilities for both students and teachers that go beyond the capabilities of general chatbots.
GAIA will accompany students as a personal tutor throughout the entire learning process. GAIA will identify individual competency levels (Knowledge Tracing) and dynamically adapt tasks, hints, and explanations to each student's learning progress. Students will interact with GAIA in a natural, dialogic format via text or voice, designed to encourage thinking rather than simply delivering ready-made answers. GAIA will process and prepare course scripts. Regular, individual feedback will support self-assessment. Gamification elements will promote learning motivation. GAIA runs on the GWDG infrastructure. Accessibility is considered from the very beginning in both design and functionality. Your personal tutor. GAIA supports you individually: with assignments, exam preparation, and especially when you get stuck. GAIA does not replace your lecturers, but complements teaching with a personal, always-available learning companion. Want to help shape it? We are looking for students to give feedback in focus groups. More room for good teaching. GAIA helps lecturers integrate individualized teaching into their courses, especially in large groups. Lecturers also receive anonymized, aggregated insights into learning processes, enabling them to develop their teaching in a data-driven way. Want to use GAIA in your teaching? From the Spreading phase onwards (see below), you can apply through internal university calls for proposals. We will also offer workshops and information days beforehand. Testing GAIA in seven selected courses (Signature Classes) from various faculties and teaching-learning formats. Sharing the experiences from the pilot phase with the entire university through workshops, guides, templates, and information days. Internal university calls for all lecturers: additional courses integrate GAIA. Goal: GAIA is accessible to all students. Across all phases, we scientifically evaluate the effectiveness of GAIA at the level of students, lecturers, and the university. GAIA is driven by an interdisciplinary team of lecturers, researchers, students, and IT experts from the University of Göttingen and GWDG.
Project Lead
Project Coordination
Project Lead, Didactic Integration and Effectiveness Evaluation
Project Lead, Development A Steering Committee of lecturers, students, academic advisors, and experts from various faculties will provide strategic oversight of the project. 21.04.2026 The GAIA project will present contributions at the university-wide Day on AI in Studies and Teaching (KI:SL) on 21.04.2026 at the ZHG. We look forward to your visit and participation. 01.10.2025 The University of Göttingen is developing GAIA, an AI-based tutor for personalized learning.
The GAIA project is funded by: Extension option until 30.09.2031 for the first four years
GAIA thrives on the participation of all university members. Whether you are a lecturer wishing to integrate GAIA into your course, a student wanting to test the system or give feedback, or a researcher interested in the evaluation — we welcome the exchange.
GAIA Project Coordination
Individuelle Lernpfade durch KI
Why GAIA?
What can GAIA do?
Adaptive Learning Support
Learning Through Dialogue
Experiencing Learning Materials in a New Way
Feedback
Privacy by Design
Accessible from the Start
Who is GAIA for?
For Students
For Lecturers
Our Path: Three Phases
Piloting
Seeding
Spreading
Who is behind GAIA?
Prof. Dr. Max Wardetzky
Vice President for Studies and Teaching
Rosalie Freimann
Prof. Dr. Viola Deutscher
Prof. Dr. Julian Kunkel
News
GAIA at the university-wide Day on AI in Studies and Teaching (KI:SL)
Project GAIA launched
Funding
the Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre (StIL) within the "Lehrarchitektur" funding line.
01.10.2025 – 31.12.2029
€4.7 million
+ €1.8 million for a further two yearsGet Involved and Contact
Rosalie Freimann
