On July 2–3, 2026, Link Campus University, Rome, Italy hosted the International Symposium “Participation in Crisis? Appraising Acute Challenges and Exploring Prospects for Revitalising Inclusive Democratic Voice”, bringing together scholars to discuss contemporary challenges facing democratic participation, education, and civic responsibility.

Akaki Kapanadze, Director of the Project Department at Caucasus University, participated in the symposium online and delivered a presentation entitled “From Memorisation to Participatory Competence: Reclaiming the University as a Site of Epistemic Verification in the Age of Generative AI.”

The presentation explored the impact of generative artificial intelligence on higher education, emphasizing the importance of epistemic competencies that enable critical reasoning, information verification, and responsible civic engagement, arguing that universities should move beyond traditional memorisation-based approaches and foster students’ capacity for critical verification, AI literacy, and evidence-based reasoning. The research explored how higher education institutions can strengthen epistemic agency by redesigning teaching and assessment practices to prepare graduates for responsible civic engagement in increasingly AI-mediated information environments.

The presentation also highlighted Caucasus University’s experience gained through the Erasmus+ CBHE projects ETHICS (Responsible Conduct of Research -Research Integrity and Ethics in Georgian Universities) and PRODIGE (Promoting High-quality Digital Education in Georgia), which promote research integrity, the ethical use of artificial intelligence, and the digital transformation of higher education. The research contributes to current international discussions on the future of higher education, digital transformation, and civic responsibility in the age of artificial intelligence.