Winnipeg students hope to develop Canada-EU AI literacy

Winnipeg Free Press

3 days ago

A duo of local students has won a trip abroad to pitch diplomats on their made-in-Manitoba plan to bolster artificial intelligence literacy in Canada and the European Union.
The University of Manitoba's Divya Sharma and Emily Katsman were named winners of the 2025 Schuman Challenge last week.
'It's a little bit surreal. I'm still taking it in,' said Katsman, noting the 20-somethings are the first Manitobans to enter the foreign policy competition put on by the EU Delegation to Canada.
'We are a province that has a lot of talent, but we sometimes get overlooked — especially when it comes to these high-level government and political competitions and policy settings.'
The national contest calls on undergraduate students to brainstorm ways to strengthen the relationship between their home country and the EU.
AI was the theme of this year's event, the third of its kind, which drew a total of 19 submissions from across the country.
Sharma, 20, and Katsman, 21, were recognized for their proposal to create a Canada-EU roadmap for AI literacy in post-secondary education.
'By working together, Canada and the EU can create the shared infrastructure, standards, and trust needed to shape an AI-literate generation. One that will fuel future breakthroughs in health, climate, defence, and the digital economy,' they argued in a nine-page essay.
'From classrooms to NATO command centres, students in Canada and the EU must speak the same digital language.'
Their recommendations to make that happen? Launch a joint AI literacy taskforce, standardized educator certification initiative and a research and student exchange program.
'AI is the future. There's no turning back,' Sharma said.
Katsman echoed those comments. However, despite Canada's reputation as a world leader in AI research excellence, local universities have shied away from embracing the technology in classrooms due to plagiarism concerns, she noted.
Their essay deemed this situation 'Canada's AI paradox,' and argued the lack of AI integration on post-secondary campuses is a major issue for the workforce and innovation at large.
Canadian students are not being prepared to use AI tools effectively or responsibly — a stark contrast to what's happening in Estonia, they argued.
Estonia's 'AI Leap' pilot aims to equip 20,000 high school students in northern Europe with lessons on how to use AI tools.
A total of 3,000 teachers in that country are receiving training to leverage the technology for educational purposes this fall.
Policymakers are working with Anthropic and OpenAI, alongside other partners, to create a related curriculum and workshops.
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Sharma and Katsman suggested Canada and the EU learn from Estonia and develop a roadmap accordingly.
The U of M students are slated to visit Brussels in the fall to share their ideas with European leaders.
Katsman said they are hopeful they will meet Kaja Kallas, who resigned as Estonia's prime minister last year to join the EU government.
EU representatives visited Winnipeg in April on a 'Team Europe mission' to the Prairies.
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Maggie MacintoshEducation reporter
Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie.
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