Leading with AI by Your Side

How can AI support leadership without replacing it? This workshop explores how to use generative AI to prepare decisions, broaden perspectives, and think through courses of action in a more structured way.

This 90-minute online workshop is designed for managers within the Helmholtz Association who already have basic experience working with AI tools.

Leadership means making decisions, shaping change, and taking responsibility. Yet many of these tasks must be handled under time pressure, with incomplete information, or without immediate collegial exchange. In such situations, generative AI can provide valuable support — not as a replacement for leadership experience, but as a dialogic sparring partner that helps broaden perspectives, structure decision-making options, and critically reflect on one’s own approach.

In this workshop, you will use AI as a sparring partner for real leadership situations: preparing decisions, expanding perspectives, and exploring possible courses of action.

The course language is German. This module complements the AI and leadership programs of the Helmholtz Leadership Academy.

Course Content

Executive isolation: how AI can help address this challenge
AI fundamentals: basic principles for using AI effectively
Expanding thinking vs. completing tasks: two modes of AI assistance
Hands-on session: building a structured leadership prompt for your own situation

Target Group

Managers within the Helmholtz Association from administration, management, and research who already have basic experience with AI tools (e.g. through the introductory course How to use ChatGPT & Co. effectively or through independent use).

Requirements

For the practical exercises during the workshop, you will need access to an AI tool of your choice, such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Claude, or the Helmholtz internal language model service Blablador. The methods covered in the workshop can be applied across different tools.

If you do not currently have access to a suitable AI tool, you may request temporary access through HIDA in advance.

Course Dates

12.06.2026, 09:00 am - 10:30 am (full)

24.07.2026, 09:00 am- 10:30 am (full)

Places are limited to 25 participants and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Trainer

Stefan Götze

Shortbio:

Dr. Stefan Götze is a research funding officer at the Karlsruhe House of Young Scientists (KHYS) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).

2008 – 2015: Research and teaching, including doctoral studies, at the political science departments of the universities of Oxford, Mannheim, Munich (LMU)
Since 2015: Advisor at the KIT for the promotion of young researchers, and for a time also for research funding, with responsibilities in the areas of application advice, further training and networking
Since 2018: Trainer for the topics of (interdisciplinary) collaboration, communication and innovation
Since 2023: Conducting further training courses on the use of generative AI for researchers and administrative staff