AI and neuroeducation, protagonists in the conference aimed at guidance personnel of schools.
Neuroeducation, artificial intelligence and key competencies for professional success were the focus of reflection at the XXV Guidance Day of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), which brought together 600 people from educational centers in the Valencian Community. Also discussed were the novelties for the upcoming University Entrance Exams (PAU), as is customary at this meeting.
This day, which was followed by videoconference from the Gandia Campus, the program is used to analyze a wide variety of educational aspects. The different presentations address issues that currently condition the lives of adolescents, and are therefore very useful for the guidance staff of the centers.
The session was attended by the regional secretary of Universities, Esther Gomez, she regretted that some bilingual autonomous communities, including Valencia, have again this year occupied the last positions in the ranking of the grades of the University Entrance Exams (PAU). In this regard, he advanced that his department is working on a joint proposal to be sent to the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, which will advocate consolidating a more equitable scenario for all the autonomous communities.
How to look at our students
In a context of great uncertainty and great change, such as the current one, the paper of David Bueno (“Learning from uncertainty: what neuroeducation brings us”) generated maximum expectation.
The founder of the Chair of Neuroeducation at the University of Barcelona delved into the most human side of education, “where AI does not reach”. He did so, exposing and arguing some keys to significantly increase the efficiency in the transmission of knowledge.
Bueno advocated, mainly, to reduce stress in different ways. Among them, teachers should cross their gazes with the whole class in order to “get in step with each other”. A practice that the expert recommended doing at the beginning of each session: “about two or three minutes at the beginning, to make ourselves present as teachers, establish a link and activate the neural networks of socialization.
In the short term, AI will create more jobs than it destroys
Two of the aspects that most influence educational planning in the short and long term are the expectation of employability and the skills demanded by companies. Regarding the sectors with, presumably, a better employability horizon, the expert in talent management Olga Barroso cited digital education and training, renewable energy and sustainability, health and care, cybersecurity, and logistics and supply chain, among others.
As for the skills most sought after by companies, Barroso stressed the importance of critical and creative thinking, knowing how to react to unforeseen events and the ability to motivate.
“GPT Chat, from 4th grade of ESO”.
Artificial Intelligence was very present throughout the Orientation Day and even raised a debate among the audience: whether or not to introduce this technology in the classroom, in a decisive manner.
In this regard, José Francisco Monserrat Vice Rector for Internationalization and Communication, defended not only its convenience, but also established the most appropriate age and course to start implementing the Chat GPT language model: “from the age of 15, that is, from the 4th year of ESO”. He also encouraged guidance personnel to try out various AI tools and to “do it with them (high school students)”.
The speaker Maria Alfonso, the researcher in Educational Sciences, who supported Monserrat’s thesis, argued that students should learn to make responsible use of this technology, “assimilating what can be useful and what can be harmful, with the help of the teachers”.
No news on the 2026 PAU
After some PAU -those of 2025- of substantial modifications (new weighting system, elimination of the maximum electivity or incorporation of more competitive exercises, among others), the PAU of next year 2026 come with a “greater stability”, after several years of changes, as he commented José Mas, the new general coordinator of Access to the University System, replacing Antoni Gil. The latter, for his part, took stock of this year’s tests.
Precisely, Antoni Gil received the ovation of the day, in gratitude for his invaluable commitment and good disposition towards the educational community, after 25 years as general coordinator of the University System Access.