Domuni Universitas Rethinks Its Pedagogy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

22 october 2026

The advent of artificial intelligence is transforming the way we learn, write and conduct research. Domuni Universitas has chosen to address the full implications of this transformation and is fundamentally rethinking its pedagogical approach. When a machine can produce a text in a matter of seconds, what matters is no longer simply what students know, but what they are able to do with that knowledge: understand, make connections, construct arguments and exercise sound judgement. The institution is therefore reorganising its courses and introducing new assessment methods. These aim to verify the actual application of skills, in the context of a university education that continues to uphold rigorous academic standards.

AI CHANGES THE LANDSCAPE

Generative AI tools can now produce a seemingly polished essay, summary or literature review in a matter of moments. For any higher education institution, and particularly for one operating entirely online, this raises a formidable question: what is the value of an assignment submitted remotely if there is no way to establish whether the student has understood its content?

Rather than relying solely on supervision or detection tools, Domuni Universitas has chosen to rethink how it teaches and assesses students. The written text is no longer the sole indicator of learning. It is also necessary to examine the reasoning behind it, the choices that underpin it and the student’s ability to explain and defend it personally.

Distance learning also presents its own specific challenges. Students pursue their studies in their personal environments, in front of a screen, while managing the demands and constraints of everyday life. To sustain their attention and support their learning, teaching methods must be varied, and students must be given a more active role throughout their academic journey.

WHAT A MACHINE CANNOT DO ON BEHALF OF A STUDENT

The work of Jacques Tardif, a Canadian specialist in educational sciences, helps clarify the issue. In his view, competence cannot be reduced to the possession of knowledge. It lies in the ability to mobilise knowledge and practical skills in a given situation in order to produce a relevant outcome.

This is precisely where the difference with AI lies. A machine can retrieve and reproduce information. It cannot understand on behalf of a student, exercise judgement on their behalf or assume responsibility for an argued position on their behalf. Moreover, using these tools judiciously requires a sound foundation of knowledge: this is the only way to identify an error, an approximation or flawed reasoning.

Domuni’s pedagogical redesign therefore pursues a dual objective. It enables students to acquire a solid body of knowledge independently. It then guides them towards applying that knowledge to analyse a situation, develop a line of reasoning, defend a position or produce a concrete outcome.

The approach also rests on a distinction between content and form. Content encompasses the knowledge, concepts and resources that the lecturer seeks to convey. Form refers to how these elements are organised and presented to facilitate understanding and appropriation.

At Domuni Universitas, courses draw on the expertise of professors and specialists in their respective disciplines. They structure knowledge, develop scientific reflection and provide a genuine intellectual journey. This academic dimension remains essential.

However, transmission alone is not enough. Students must also retain this knowledge, establish connections between different concepts and learn how to use them. This conviction has led the institution to evolve the presentation of its courses and the organisation of learning.

TRANSMITTING KNOWLEDGE, ENCOURAGING PARTICIPATION AND PROMOTING ACTIVE LEARNING: A PEDAGOGICAL ENGINEERING APPROACH

To implement this transformation, Domuni Universitas has drawn on a pedagogical engineering team led by Damien Will, a specialist in this field and in the digitalisation of education and training. His expertise includes the design of e-learning programmes and online learning environments.

Courses now combine three complementary approaches:

• Transmission-based pedagogy retains a fundamental role. The professor presents the knowledge and essential reference points required to study a discipline. Without this foundation, students lack both the necessary basis for deeper reflection and the means to exercise critical judgement regarding the content offered by digital tools.

• Participatory pedagogy builds on this transmission. Students answer questions, check their understanding, recall a definition or establish connections between elements of the course. These regular prompts reactivate knowledge and sustain attention.

• Active pedagogy encourages students to develop their own thinking. They seek out resources, compare ideas, synthesise information and formulate their own responses. Academic work thus becomes a genuine process of intellectual construction that no tool can carry out on their behalf.

These approaches follow one another in a coherent sequence. The knowledge conveyed provides the foundation for interactive activities, which in turn prepare students for assignments requiring greater autonomy. Students thus progress from discovering concepts to applying them.

The team has established a common structure for all courses rather than designing the organisation of each course separately. This framework does not erase the distinctive characteristics of individual disciplines: activities remain tailored to the content of each course. Professors retain their essential role in defining and updating knowledge. An annual review enables course leaders to update learning resources and bibliographical references and, where necessary, revise their approach to particular subjects.

The transformation therefore relies on the integration of two areas of expertise. Subject specialists ensure academic quality, while pedagogical engineering organises the conditions that support learning.

ACTIVITIES THAT ENABLE STUDENTS TO LEARN BY DOING

At several stages of their academic journey, students complete exercises based on the concepts they have studied. They answer quizzes, put elements in the correct order, classify concepts or fill in missing words in texts. These exercises enable them to check their understanding progressively. They also engage students throughout the reading process rather than leaving them in a purely receptive role.

Each course concludes with synthesis tools, such as a mind map, a summary and a glossary. These help students organise their knowledge and identify the essential concepts.

These activities do not replace academic content; they support its assimilation. They prepare students for the next stage, in which they must apply their knowledge in an independent, well-reasoned assignment.

ASSESSMENTS BUILT AROUND REAL-WORLD SITUATIONS

Assessment is where the response to AI becomes most evident. Until now, students completed a quiz and an assignment for each course. The standalone assignment, which can easily be delegated to a machine, is being replaced by a more demanding assessment framework.

Each semester, students now complete a project organised around three deliverables, followed by an oral defence. The required outputs may take different forms, including a report, a portfolio, a glossary, a comparative analysis or any other assignment aligned with the programme’s objectives.

The project generally brings together two or three courses. Students combine knowledge acquired across different subjects and develop a coherent response rather than treating each course as an isolated body of material.

The deliverables follow a progressive structure. The first two invite students to reproduce, select and synthesise the concepts they have studied. The third requires them to take a position, make choices and develop an independent argument.

The proposed scenarios are inspired by professional realities. For example, a student may be placed in the role of an intercultural relations officer tasked with writing a report on intercultural life within a municipality. The student must then draw on theoretical knowledge to produce a concrete piece of work, assessed according to defined criteria. Because such a project is contextualised, progressive and based on several courses, it engages students far more deeply than a generic essay question.

The end-of-course quiz remains an essential component of assessment. It verifies the acquisition and retention of knowledge. The deliverables, completed after several courses have been validated, assess something different: the student’s ability to apply what they have learned through practical work. The two forms of assessment complement one another.

THE ORAL DEFENCE AT THE HEART OF THE ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK

Each project, and therefore each semester, concludes with an oral defence. One or two specialists in the relevant field, having read the deliverables, question the student about their choices, analyses and reasoning.

In the context of AI, this stage is decisive. A machine can produce a text. But understanding is necessary to explain it, and independent thought is necessary to defend it. Students must explain their approach, justify their conclusions and demonstrate how they have connected the concepts studied. The oral defence thus ensures that the work presented is genuinely their own, in the fullest and most demanding sense of the term.

It also provides an opportunity for direct discussion with lecturers, who offer feedback on the work and support the student’s progress. In a programme delivered entirely online, this opportunity for dialogue reconnects with the oldest university tradition: reasoned discussion between a teacher and a student.

“DOMUNI CERTIFIES THE APPLICATION OF SKILLS, NOT SIMPLY THE POSSESSION OF KNOWLEDGE”

This statement encapsulates the ambition behind the redesign. At a time when information is instantly available, a degree can no longer attest solely to the fact that a student has accumulated knowledge. It must demonstrate that the student knows how to use that knowledge rigorously and judiciously.

A student may achieve an excellent score on a quiz by mastering the concepts studied. However, recognising or reproducing these concepts does not necessarily mean knowing how to use them to analyse a situation, formulate a response or justify a decision. This is precisely the purpose of the projects. Faced with a contextualised situation, students must understand the task, select the relevant knowledge, establish connections between concepts and produce a well-reasoned document. They must then explain and defend their work orally.

Academic knowledge remains at the heart of this approach. Domuni aims to educate students who master the concepts of their disciplines and know how to apply them judiciously, including in an environment transformed by artificial intelligence. Scientific rigour and the practical application of knowledge complement each other throughout the academic journey.

This approach also meets the expectations of those seeking to redirect their professional careers. A graduate in theology or the humanities can deepen their expertise while preparing for career development, professional retraining or work in intercultural mediation, religious education or the voluntary sector.

The ambition is to enable every student to understand knowledge, establish connections between ideas and apply what they have learned appropriately. University education thus becomes a genuine driver of intellectual and professional development, while learning remains the responsibility of the student themselves.

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