Arctic Institute for AI Seminar #3: AI for Language Proficiency in Healthcare Communication
Presented by Anna Endresen, Research Professor at UiT
The [AI]² Seminar Series highlights exciting and emerging AI-related research at UiT and beyond. It will contribute to an interdisciplinary AI platform at UiT to inspire new collaborations, spurring new AI research and innovation that positively contributes to North Norway, the Arctic, Norway, and the World in general.
The seminar is open to everyone, but we kindly ask you to register via the form on the right.
Watch the seminar online via Panopto
13:15 - 13:35: Talk: AI for Language Proficiency in Healthcare Communication: Designing AI-based Language Training for Immigrant Healthcare Students
13:35 - 13:45: Q&A
13:45 - 14:00: Waffles and coffee outside the auditorium.
Norway’s healthcare sector faces significant workforce shortages. Immigrant professionals comprise 19% of healthcare employees nationwide and 38% in Oslo. In some healthcare education programs, nearly half of the students have immigrant backgrounds. These students need additional support to develop language proficiency required for future work.
In this talk, I will explore how AI can provide accessible, efficient, and profession-specific language training through simulated conversations with virtual patients. I will present the initial development of SnakKIs, an AI-based conversation tutor designed to help immigrant healthcare students and professionals practice Norwegian in realistic workplace scenarios.
I will also demonstrate why AI alone is not enough. Generative AI often struggles to provide accurate explanations of conventionalized and formulaic expressions. For example, the Norwegian phrases “Takk for alt!” and “Mange takk!” are not interchangeable, while patterns like “Billig og billig (fru Blom)” can present challenges for both human learners of Norwegian and Large Language Models (LLMs). To address these limitations, our approach combines AI with research-based linguistic resources to create a more reliable and linguistically robust educational tool.
The talk will present the newly launched CLAIRE project (https://en.uit.no/project/claire), funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers (Nordplus 2026). Its further development, including a focus on Norwegian dialect comprehension, will depend on the outcome of funding applications submitted in 2026.
Finally, the talk will highlight opportunities to contribute to the project, including an international conference, the collection of simulated healthcare conversations, and a survey of language-learning needs and gaps.
The [AI]2 seminars may be streamed and recorded, depending of the consent of the speaker. Questions from the audience may hence be streamed and recorded.
The presentation part of the recording will be edited and uploaded to the AI Squared YouTube channel. The Q&A portion will hence be edited away and not included in the YouTube video.
The recording will be retained and available on Panopto for up to two years after the original recording date.
Any questions about the recording and its use, including any wish to report any deviations, e.g. information or individuals who were not supposed to be included have beencaptured in the recording, can be directed to Communications Officer Petter Bjørklund.