UPN shared and evaluated progress of the international EPAI Project on Intelligent Learning Environments

The Universidad Pedagógica Nacional (UPN) hosted a session to share and evaluate the pilot courses of the EPAI project- Intelligent Personal Learning Environment, an international initiative aimed at strengthening higher education training process through the development of systems that integrate artificial intelligence, formal and informal learning, and personalized digital environments.

The project, co-funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ program, brings together a consortium of 11 universities from Europe and Latin America committed to transforming educational models through innovative, accessible and learner-centered approaches.

During the event, the UPN welcomed international researchers and evaluators who reviewed the project’s progress at the institution and participated in academic discussions regarding the results of pilot studies conducted at various universities within the consortium.

The project EPAI seeks to create an ecosystem of Personal Learning Environment (PLEs) that enables teachers, students, administrators, and professionals to self-regulate, organize and enhance their learning processes using digital tools based on artificial intelligence.

According to Dora Manjarrés Carrizález, EPAI Project Coordinator at UPN, the system allows each user to access a platform that recommends academic communities, documents, articles and training opportunities aligned with their interests. “The project aims to generate an ecosystem of personal learning environments that enables self-regulation and management of the learning process. Through artificial intelligence, the platform recommends academic communities, courses, documents and learning pathways that enhance professional competencies”, explained Manjarrés.

In addition to the recommendation system, the project includes learning monitoring tools and a credentialing subsystem that guides users toward courses and qualification processes that can be certified by participating universities.

UPN’s participation in the project has developed over nearly three years, led by the Office of Research supported by faculty researchers from the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Science and Technology.

Within the consortium, the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional has played a central role in developing the pedagogical and educational innovation components, contributing perspectives related to learning processes, didactics, inclusion and accessibility in digital environments.

According to Manjarrés, UPN led the educational innovation project, from which pedagogical guidelines, accessibility guidelines, and quality criteria for system development were designed. “The consortium includes universities with technological and engineering profiles that have developed the system’s architecture. From the Universidad Pedagógica, we have contributed the pedagogical component: how learning occurs, how it is self-regulated, and how inclusive and accessible learning environments are designed”, she noted.

In addition, the university led training processes for teachers within the consortium and developed pilot courses to test the project’s effectiveness, as well as a diploma program focused on citizenship education in the context of climate change.
The visit to UPN aimed to evaluate the project’s implementation at the institution, review the results of the pilot courses, and analyze how the EPAI system adapts to the institutional contexts of each participating university. During the presentations, academic teams shared experiences related to course design, student monitoring, and the alignment of the project with institutional policies.
International evaluators highlighted UPN’s pedagogical identity, reflected in tutoring processes, academic monitoring, reflection on learning, and the incorporation of principles of universal design for learning, accessibility, and inclusion. “The evaluators emphasized the university’s pedagogical identity. Each presentation demonstrated rigor, student support, and a clear awareness of how learning is constructed in digital environments,” stated the project coordinator.

The EPAI Project brings together universities from different countries that collaborate in research, technological development, and educational innovation. The consortium includes the National University of Distance Education (UNED) of Spain, NOVA University Lisbon of Portugal, the University Politehnica of Bucharest of Romania, the Autonomous University of Yucatán (UADY) and the Autonomous University of Aguascalientes (UAA) of Mexico, the Universidad Católica de Santa María (UCSM) and the Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal (UNFV) of Peru, La Salle Technological University (ULSA) and the Universidad Americana (UAM) of Nicaragua, the Corporación Universitaria Rafael Núñez (UNINÚÑEZ) of Colombia, and the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional (UPN) as the host institution of this event.

UPN’s participation in this project reaffirms its commitment to pedagogical innovation, international cooperation, and the development of inclusive and accessible educational environments, where technology and artificial intelligence are integrated with solid pedagogical approaches to strengthen teacher education.

This academic meeting made it possible to consolidate the project’s progress and strengthen the collaborative network among universities, contributing new perspectives for the development of intelligent, critical, and interconnected learning environments aligned with contemporary educational challenges.