On April 16th, during the Consultation of Visual Arts (OBK) at the Royal Academy of Art, representatives from various art education institutions discussed the formulation of new competencies. Unsurprisingly, AI was an important topic of the day.
In the professional and educational profile for Visual Arts & Design, the academies define the competencies and qualities students should possess after completing their studies. The previous version was formulated in 2014 and therefore was due for an update.
Back in 2023 the academies began a process to formulate new competencies, which were presented in October 2025. Miriam Bestebreurtje and Tessa Verheul from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie were members of the steering committee and the working group for the new competencies, respectively. During the morning session of the OBK, they provided insight into the process. They explained that it had been an intensive period in which the academies held extensive discussions with one another and with various disciplines from the professional field.
Four equal competencies
These discussions resulted in a new set of four equal competencies that better align with the skills needed in professional practice: Artistic Creation, Research and Reflection, Connecting with the Environment, and Working in a Practice.
A clear distinction was also made between the different educational levels. Furthermore, discussions with the professional field highlighted the importance of addressing technological developments such as AI.
Best Practice: Academie Minerva
The new competencies provide a framework, while allowing individual academies the freedom to shape them according to their own direction and identity. Menno Conner and Uli Mathies from Academie Minerva demonstrated how their institution recently developed new competencies with the support of an AI model from the Hanze University of Applied Sciences. This model formulated seven learning-outcome-independent competencies (LOLs), which became the starting point for broad discussions with students, tutors, and curriculum, examination and assessment committees.
Ultimately, this resulted in five LOLs that Minerva will implement next academic year: relate, investigate, materialise, position, and practice.
Student-driven learning path
These LOLs form the foundation of a student-driven learning pathway in which the end result focuses on demonstrating mastery of the stated competencies. Mathies explained: “It’s a learning cycle that students can enter at any point, repeat, revisit, and continue. In this way, students follow their own path and can switch between programmes.” The LOLs will continue to evolve: they are calibrated annually and evaluated every two years.
AI in education: stay critical
During the second part of the day, Marcel Schmitz from Zuyd University of Applied Sciences spoke about the use of AI in education. He stressed the importance of maintaining a critical perspective.
Programs such as ChatGPT have limitations, and it is important to train students to recognise those limits. Questions surrounding authorship also play a role. Finally, Schmitz referred to the AI Coalition for the Netherlands, with which he is closely involved and which has €2.5 million available for educational projects related to AI. “All types of educational programmes are participating, except the arts. This is an invitation!”
AI training programme for teachers
Courtney Robinson from the Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas) then explained how BUas implemented AI within the institution. In just one and a half years, the university expanded from one full-time AI position to a complete AI department. Robinson advises training both students and teachers in the use of AI tools. In order to do so, BUas created a dedicated AI training programme for teachers, which is continuously adapted to their wishes and needs. Because BUas believes it is important for both students and teachers to have access to AI, the institution chose to provide both groups with access to Claude, a large generative AI chatbot.
During the break, KABK director Edwin Jacobs also pointed to an interesting AI development in Estonia, where the education system is testing an AI chatbot that does not provide answers, but asks questions instead. “That stimulates thinking. Students learn to associate and ask further questions.”
Recommendations
The day concluded with breakout sessions in which participants discussed the role of AI in art education in greater depth. A selection of the recommendations:
- Allocate funding for new initiatives if AI is to be taken seriously.
- Policymakers should note that developments in AI are progressing so rapidly that policies quickly become outdated.
- And finally, some students see AI as a threat to their future as artists, while others see opportunities. Therefore, involve them in the conversation about AI.