“And what happens next?” – How Axel Springer and the Humboldt Innovation Academy are training AI managers for the media industry

For years, the Axel Springer Academy has been training its employees in workshops on how to handle with AI. But at some point, Ekaterina Schneider asked herself a question: What actually happens next? The answer is a new certificate course that the School of Journalism developed in collaboration with the Humboldt Innovation Academy. We spoke with Katrin Schütz, director of the Humboldt Innovation Academy, and Ekaterina Schneider, Chief Learning Officer at the Axel Springer Academy, about how the program came to be.

Over the past few years, Schneider has built up a broad range of AI training programs, covering everything from the basics to the automation of entire work processes. She was constantly guided by this fundamental question: “We can get people excited about AI in workshops, show them new tools, and empower them to work more productively. But what happens after that? Who translates this knowledge into strategic decisions? Who recognizes which processes we should not only optimize but fundamentally rethink?”

For her, one thing was certain: “At some point, it became clear to me that we had to build on this—with a program that goes beyond mere application […].“ (translated)

A program like this requires resources that a media company alone does not have. “With Humboldt University, we have gained a strong academic partner for this,” says Schneider. Specifically, it is Humboldt-Innovation that is responsible for continuing education on the university’s side. Katrin Schütz describes the division of roles in no uncertain terms: “As a subsidiary of Humboldt University of Berlin, Humboldt-Innovation provides the academic expertise. For this course, we were able to recruit outstanding experts from Humboldt University in the field of artificial intelligence as instructors and academic directors. The Axel Springer Academy does not have this kind of access.”

Specifically, this means that three professors are taking on teaching and academic leadership roles. Prof. Niels Pinkwart, Prof. Alan Akbik, and Prof. Herbert Zech cover computer science, machine learning, and IT law.

The course “AI Manager: AI Competence for Media and Publishing Professionals” lasts 17 weeks. It does not conclude with an exam, but rather with a project in which participants develop their own use case, complete with a target scenario and KPIs. Schütz explains why this practical component is so crucial: “The added value for participants lies particularly in the practical application of their knowledge. This gives them the opportunity to gain insights for their own work from their colleagues’ use cases and also allows them to directly test whether that knowledge is applicable to their specific day-to-day work.”

Those who complete the course receive a joint certificate from Humboldt University and the Axel Springer Academy worth five ECTS credits.

For Schütz, the program is also an example of what collaborations between academia and industry can achieve: “The greatest value for companies in a collaboration with the Humboldt Innovation Academy lies in direct access to subject matter experts and, consequently, to the latest research in these fields.”

Ekaterina Schneider summarizes what she believes is most important: “The real challenge today is no longer access to the technology. What matters is whether people understand the possibilities and limitations of AI, make informed decisions, and apply it meaningfully in their day-to-day work.”