A Look Back at Learning AID 2026: AI in Higher Education and Ritchy as a Practical Example
Source: Own illustration
On September 1 and 2, 2026, the fifth Learning AID took place at Ruhr University Bochum. More than 350 participants gathered at the conference to discuss artificial intelligence, learning analytics, and data mining in higher education. Learning AID was launched in 2022 by the KI:edu.nrw project and has been organized by its successor project, KI:Expertisezentrum.nrw, since July 2026.
The IT Center was also represented this year: At the “Market of Opportunities,” we presented our support chatbot Ritchy and engaged in conversations with numerous interested attendees.
In this post, we provide insights into the event, the diverse program, and the discussions surrounding Ritchy.
From Campus to Cloud – Four Days of Exchange, Innovation, and Networking
Source: Own Illustration
Four days, numerous presentations, exciting tours, in-depth discussions, and plenty of new insights: From September 7 to 10, 2026, the 27th DINI Annual Conference & ZKI Fall Conference took place at RWTH Aachen University under the theme “From Campus to Cloud – Confidently Connected.”
Together with the RWTH University Library, the IT Center co-hosted this year’s conference. At C.A.R.L., experts from universities, research institutions, and the IT sector came together to discuss current developments, share experiences, and take a joint look at the digital future.
Data Backup in RWTHmoodle
Source: own illustration
Twice a year, learning spaces are deleted from RWTHmoodle. During this process, all learning spaces older than three years are deleted. We will notify you of the deletion well in advance via email and a banner on RWTHmoodle. This November, it’s the turn of the learning spaces from the 2023/24 winter semester. When learning spaces are deleted, all content is also deleted. To save yourself trouble and time, you should back up all important learning materials beforehand. Find out about the data backup options available to students and instructors in this blog post.
A Journey Through IT History III – From the Suitcase Phone to the Smartphone
Source: Own Illustration
Welcome to the third part of our IT journey through time! This time, we’ll trace the rapid evolution of the portable phone—from a suitcase-sized device weighing several kilograms, to the “brick” that fit in your hand, all the way to today’s smartphone, which combines a camera, navigation device, media player, and powerful mini-computer all in one.
“From Campus to Cloud – Confidently Connected”
Source: Own Illustration
Aachen is becoming a hub for the digital future of higher education: From September 7 to 10, 2026, the 27th DINI Annual Conference and ZKI Fall Conference will take place under the theme “From Campus to Cloud – Confidently Connected” at the C.A.R.L. at RWTH Aachen University.
Kube3: Cross-National Kubernetes Infrastructure for Universities
Source: Own Illustration
How can universities jointly develop modern cloud services while maintaining their digital sovereignty? This is precisely where the Kube3 collaboration comes in. Universities and research institutions from Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, and North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) are working together to establish a cross-state Kubernetes-as-a-Service (KaaS) infrastructure. The goal is to develop common standards and future-proof solutions that can be used by all participating institutions in the long term. The NRW portion of the Kube3 federation will initially run through spring 2028.
IdM Role and Group Management: View Your Own Roles Faster
Source: Own Illustration
Effective immediately, all members of RWTH Aachen University can view their own roles directly in the IdM Role and Group Management. The homepage displays all roles that have been assigned to you via Role and Group Management.
This makes it easier to access your own roles and groups: You no longer have to navigate through the IdM Selfservice to do so. Previously, access to the IdM Role and Group Management was only available to individuals with the “Role Management” role.
RWTHgpt: Image generation is finally available!
Source: Own illustration
Good news for everyone who uses RWTHgpt: RWTH’s generative AI service now also supports the creation of images. This means that students, faculty, and administrative staff can now not only generate text but also create and refine their own graphic content directly in RWTHgpt.
Whether it’s illustrations for courses, visualizations for presentations, learning materials, concept sketches, or creative graphics for projects: The new image generation models support a wide range of tasks in academic studies, research, and day-to-day work at RWTH.
A Journey Through IT History II – From Floppy Disks to Cloud Storage
Source: Own Illustration
Welcome to the second part of our journey through IT history! This time, we’ll delve into the world of storage media and trace their evolution from 1.44 megabytes (MB) in a rectangular plastic case to the seemingly unlimited capacities of the cloud.
Activity Spotlight: The Test
Source: own illustration
Moodle offers a wide variety of activities to support students in their learning. The “Test” is one of the most frequently used activities in RWTHmoodle. It allows you to create online quizzes with various question types—from multiple-choice and matching questions to math problems. Tests are particularly useful for ongoing assessment of learning progress and self-assessment throughout the semester.
In this post, we’ll introduce you to the most important features of the Test activity and show you the options available for creating quiz questions.
