AI Workshops at Humlab

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ImageShubham Sharan

During the spring semester of 2026, we are organizing several workshops aimed at strengthening general competence in artificial intelligence, as well as a number of workshops focused on specific tools or thematic areas. The goal is to provide participants with both a broad understanding of the opportunities and challenges of AI, and a deeper insight into how particular tools can be used in practice.

Note! Registration is done via our simple booking system. Make sure to note the date and time in your calendar. About a week before the workshop starts, you will receive a welcome email with practical information. The following workshop sessions will be offered during Spring Term 2026:

AI Competence

Generative AI is already influencing our everyday work in teaching, research, and administration. With these workshops, our aim is to promote a balanced, insightful, and constructive perspective on AI. We want to help participants become both skilled users and reflective thinkers who can navigate an increasingly complex future shaped by AI technologies.

The workshop series addresses key issues such as bias, transparency, data protection legislation, and digital divides. Participants will also gain a foundational understanding of the AI ecosystem, prompting methods, and practical examples of AI applications directly relevant to research, teaching, and administrative processes.

Each workshop consists of half lecture and discussion, and half hands-on activities. Participants are therefore asked to bring their own laptop and phone to actively engage in exercises and apply the knowledge to concrete workflows.

NotebookLM

Imagine an AI that not only answers questions but also studies your material alongside you. NotebookLM is Google’s experimental research tool, designed to take learning, writing, and idea development to the next level.

By linking or uploading your notes, PDFs, or documents, NotebookLM becomes your personalized study companion. It summarizes, cross-references, and generates insights tailored to you. With advanced research features, the tool can identify connections between sources, highlight key arguments, and suggest new perspectives for further analysis. The built-in study mode helps you practice, prepare presentations, or structure teaching materials.

Unlike general chatbots, NotebookLM works directly with the texts you choose, giving you greater control and transparency in the process. This workshop is hands-on and guides you step-by-step to get started quickly. Whether you're a teacher, researcher, or administrative staff, you'll gain practical skills to make NotebookLM a natural part of your daily work.

Become an Expert in NotebookLM: Strategies and Advanced Workflows

This workshop takes you from basic use to systematic mastery. We focus on how to build advanced knowledge bases that act as an external thinking partner in your research and teaching.

• Advanced Source Strategy: Learn how to curate material for maximum precision. We analyze how combining different source types shapes the AI model’s output.
• Academic Workflows: Practical methods for systematic literature reviews and identifying research gaps.
• Prompt Techniques: Tailor questions to produce study guides, exam questions, and high-level academic summaries.

Generative AI: Features, Customization, and Data Protection

Generative AI tools are evolving rapidly, and understanding what they offer is essential. This hands-on workshop covers Microsoft Copilot, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Google Gemini, with a particular focus on customization and data handling.

Copilot integrates into Office applications, suggests content as you write, and gives you options for file storage. ChatGPT offers settings for custom instructions and memory functions, allowing you to tailor its use to study tasks or teaching goals. Gemini is linked to Google’s apps and can be adjusted in behavior, but also raises important questions about how Google handles user data.

We also explore advanced features such as deep research for analyzing complex topics and study modes that help structure learning. By comparing strengths and limitations, you’ll be supported in choosing the tool that best fits your needs.

This workshop is intended for participants who want to deepen their knowledge and are already using Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, or Gemini.

Advanced Prompt Techniques

This workshop gives you the tools to control generative AI with greater precision. We go beyond simple prompts and focus on advanced prompt design for academic and administrative work. You’ll learn a systematic approach where AI functions as a highly skilled assistant rather than a search engine.

Workshop content:

• Structural Prompting: Design prompts with clear context, defined roles, and explicit objectives. We use frameworks that reduce noise and increase the relevance of responses.
• Iterative Processes: Techniques for refining output through multi-step prompting. You’ll learn to break down complex tasks into logical sequences.
• Few-Shot Prompting: Methods for directing the AI’s output by providing specific examples of tone, format, and structure.
• Quality Assurance and Limitations: Strategies for critically evaluating results and managing risks such as hallucinations.

The goal is for you to master the technique of formulating instructions that deliver the outcome you want for research, teaching, and planning.

Generative AI for Research Supervisors

Generative AI is becoming an established part of doctoral education. Some supervisors experience uncertainty in relation to this development, while others already use AI but lack shared principles and clear supervisory frameworks. This workshop is designed for both groups.

The workshop approaches generative AI as a thinking partner in the research process rather than as a substitute for academic writing. The focus is on how AI can support idea development, conceptual clarity, and critical thinking, while academic responsibility for theory, method, and ethics clearly remains human.

Participants receive an overview of different types of generative AI applications used in research contexts and how their differing capabilities affect reliability, risk, and appropriate supervisory practice. Prompting is introduced as a form of disciplined academic inquiry.

The workshop provides supervisors with insight and practical tools to work with generative AI in a more structured, transparent, and consistent manner within doctoral education, while maintaining research quality and academic integrity.

Request a workshop

AI Boost for Teams: Strategies for Collective Expertise and Innovation

This consultative workshop eliminates technical gaps and creates a unified knowledge base within your research group or teaching team. We build a shared competence platform where all members, regardless of prior knowledge, can contribute to the group’s collective innovation.

• Bridging the Skills Gap: We level the playing field by ensuring all members master the same essential and advanced functions.
• Synchronized Workflows: Hands‑on training in using GenAI to accelerate time‑consuming tasks in planning and analysis.
• Collective Risk Management: A shared review of fact‑checking, data privacy, and ethics to navigate AI‑related risks as a unified team.
• Shared Playbook: The team develops its own handbook for how you communicate and share AI‑related resources.

Scope: The workshop includes a total of 7 hours:

• 1‑hour planning meeting with the organizer for tailored customization
• 6 hours of on‑site practical facilitation at Humlab, Umeå University.

Contact:
For discussions, booking, and pricing:
Satish Strömberg satish.stromberg@umu.se
Phone: 073‑632 01 84

Spring Term 2026

Se all the dates and sign up here!