Keynote Speakers

Dr. Vojko Potocan, Professor

Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia

Biography: Dr. Vojko Potocan is a Full Professor of Management and Organization at the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), University of Maribor (Slovenia). He earned his doctoral degree from FEB Maribor. He teaches at three universities in Slovenia and at three universities abroad (Germany, Croatia, and Poland). He is also the head of the doctoral studies in Management and Organization at FEB. He has participated in various international scientific conferences and conducted several study visits abroad. He has published over 500 texts (over 350 in foreign languages in 45 countries), including 15 books with leading publishers Pearson, IGI, Palgrave Macmillan, and Routledge, edited proceedings, and textbooks. Dr. Potocan has published over 80 articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals.

Topic: Redesigning Problem-Based Learning: Innovativeness and Artificial Intelligence

Abstract: Background: The pervasive integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and digitalization significantly alters problem-based learning (PBL) in higher education, raising concerns about its impact on critical thinking and fundamental learning outcomes. Purpose: This article investigates AI's influence on PBL content and evaluates a modified PBL model designed to optimize AI's utility while safeguarding core pedagogical objectives like innovativeness and individual responsibility of participants. Methodology: Grounded in educational theory, we first analyzed existing AI support in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) through PBL using a series of workshops. This leads to the development of a modified PBL framework in which initial solution ideation occurs without AI, followed by AI use during the implementation phase. A subsequent survey of workshop participants then assessed the effects of this model. Results: Initial workshop findings indicated that extensive use of AI in PBL can diminish critical thinking, in-depth learning, and individual responsibility. In contrast, the modified PBL approach strengthened brainstorming, enhanced understanding of AI's possibilities and limitations, and fostered ethicality and academic integrity. Solutions developed within this model were simpler, but also more diverse and innovative than those generated solely with AI. Conclusion: Structuring AI integration in PBL is crucial to improving core educational objectives. The modified model effectively promotes innovative education and responsible AI use by segmenting AI's role. Theoretical implications underscore the need for diversified assessment and evolving PBL goals, emphasizing self-direction and critical evaluation of AI in practice.