Utvecklas internationellt

Usman Nasir´s experience at the GAISE 2025 summer school in Tampere, Finland

Usman Nasir
(Universitetsadjunkt vid institutionen för programvaruteknik)

I attended GAISE 2025, organised by GPT-Lab at the Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences (ITC), Tampere University, Finland. The three-day summer school focused on Generative AI in Software Engineering. The objective was to bring together students, researchers, and industry professionals. Summer school offered keynotes, workshops, hands-on labs, and discussions on current research, tools, methods, and practical applications of GenAI in software development.

What made you decide to apply for and participate in the program?

I have been teaching for over a decade now. I enjoy engaging with new technologies and am usually an early adopter. I wanted to learn more about GenAI and its application in software engineering teaching. Since BTH places a strong emphasis on graduate employability, I saw this summer school as a chance to learn how industry uses GenAI, so I could design learning activities based on new insights.

What was the most valuable thing you learned during the Summer School, either professionally or personally?

I learned how multiple industries, especially software development, use GenAI in their daily work. Speakers shared advanced prompting and data-processing techniques relevant to software engineering education. Also, some speakers discussed and highlighted the shortcomings of GenAI.

Was there a particular lecture, project, discussion, or activity that made a strong impression on you?

A talk on the future of Agentic AI stood out. Agentic AI was a very new concept at the time. Looking back, I now see that some of the capabilities presented as difficult but promising, such as autonomous agent-to-agent collaboration, are not yet achievable without a human in the loop.

How did the international environment contribute to your experience? Did you have the opportunity to meet participants from other countries or institutions?

Yes. I met participants from Finland, Italy, Germany, Bangladesh, and Egypt. It was an enriching experience, as many of us shared similar misconceptions, concerns, and hopes about the applicability of GenAI in software engineering in general.

Have you been able to apply any of the knowledge, skills, or contacts you gained during the program in your work at BTH?

Yes. I have introduced several assignments based on skills I learned at the summer school. I have also stayed in touch with a few contacts I made there, and I am currently working with one researcher on a joint research study.