Using a chatbot for student onboarding and learning in projects: technology as an enabler of active learning

Using technologies as enablers of active learning methodologies is a recurring topic in the scientific literature. Various tools have been developed and applied in engineering education, yielding promising results. The rapid development and widespread adoption of generative artificial intelligence (AI) language models have recently sparked discussions on their use, regulation, and evaluation in the teaching and learning process. Chatbots represent a relevant application, offering opportunities such as enhancing the learning process, providing rapid and personalised access to knowledge, and enabling iterative support that benefits students. Additionally, chatbots can be applied in administrative and support activities, potentially reducing faculty workload, which is one of the challenges in adopting active learning approaches. Given this, this article presents a method for developing a chatbot using low-code tools to accelerate the onboarding process for the Erasmus+ Egalitarian project, which focuses on solid waste management and waste pickers. Organised into iterative cycles, this project has already engaged students of various nationalities, addressing challenges related to initial problem contextualisation, knowledge management, and the diverse concepts and tools adopted. Thus, students and faculty members who participated in the first three cycles of the project evaluated the developed tool, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement and comparing their experiences with and without the chatbot. The results indicate the feasibility of chatbot development without requiring programming skills, the potential of generative AI to provide fast and direct access to knowledge, and an improved experience for participants in projects involving active learning. Finally, this tool enables gradual and iterative training throughout the project cycles, reducing the effort required from faculty members and experienced students in the onboarding process in each new cycle.