Artificial intelligence in higher education

What role should artificial intelligence play in higher education? From ChatGPT to DeepSeek, generative AI (GenAI) tools of all kinds are forcing a rethink of university teaching, assessment, research and administrative work. Find out how to build AI literacy across an institution, use GenAI to support learning, harness AI tools as teaching and research assistants and manage the risks posed by GenAI and other AI technologies.

An engineering student fixing a machine in class

The difference between AI-proof and AI-authentic engineering education

If engineering students are turning to AI first, educators need to think carefully about how to make classroom learning valuable. A simple four-stage approach can help, writes Salman Shahid

Salman Shahid

The University of Manchester

A small human with a sword and a shield attempts to fight a giant robot

Police a losing battle or teach students to think clearly? The choice is ours

Instead of trying to detect and ban AI, let’s teach students to interrogate it. Find five ways to embed critical AI literacy

Naeem Ramzan, Shahid Awan

University of the West of Scotland

A student raises a hand in a lecture hall

Why face-to-face lectures need to be interactive – and how to do it

In the YouTube era, are lectures still an efficient use of classroom time? Achim I. Czerny argues they are – with a crucial twist

Achim I. Czerny

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Asian students doing pair work in a lecture hall

Help undergraduates sustain critical AI use under deadline pressure

When assignments are due, students might be tempted to skip checks and reflection when they turn to AI tools for support. Here’s a five-stage framework to deter shortcuts

Chris Harwood

Sophia University

A teacher advises students on their work

Bring agility to a slow-moving curriculum with intersessions

Short, intensive learning periods can give educators room to experiment, as technology and workplace demands move faster than traditional curriculum cycles. Here’s how it works

Harit Satt

Al Akhawayn University

‘The more I improved my instructions, the better they worked as AI prompts’

Clear instructions tell students about the assessment task, its purpose and its criteria for success, but they also give a large language model a checklist for optimisation. Soohyun Ahn offers advice for navigating educators’ two audiences

Soohyun Ahn

Southern Alberta Institute of Technology

AI literacy as habit, not bolt-on

Let’s avoid teaching students that AI is a topic separate from the rest of the course content. Instead, embed it in course design. Find out how

Lucy S. Méndez Santiago

Universidad del Caribe (UNICARIBE)

Human and robot hands making a curve shape

How applied theatre can help students examine the ethics of AI

Why not harness theatre to spark students’ exploration of the ethical dilemmas embedded in AI design, deployment and regulation? Jon Catherwood-Ginn explains how educators can do just that

Jon Catherwood-Ginn

Virginia Tech

Why AI literacy must include supporting student – and faculty – well-being

In embedding artificial intelligence into curricula without considering how it shapes students’ thinking, relationships and sense of self, educators risk switching one problem for another. Amy Allen and David Hicks offer an approach to help ensure well-being in the age of AI

Amy Allen, David Hicks

Virginia Tech

A mechanical robot hand writes on a notepad

A tool for teaching argumentative writing to EFL students

Even students with a solid grasp of English can find it hard to construct coherent arguments in their academic writing. A six-week training course centred around an AI-powered corpus platform could help, writes Liu Kanglong

Liu Kanglong

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

A hand holding a magnifying glass over a stack of papers

Don’t ban GenAI: teach students to question it

By turning AI output into an object of collective enquiry, educators can teach a valuable habit: rather than simply asking whether an answer is correct, asking what makes it credible, writes Mert Can Atar

Mert Can Atar

Istanbul Aydin University

To AI or not to AI? That is the question

Educators should embrace their role as advocates for higher education and the critical thinking skills it imparts, argues Sarah Birrell Ivory. Here, she shares a classroom exercise that compares the learning benefits of a written source with generative AI

Sarah Birrell Ivory

Independent academic

A professor teaches from the front of class

We promise our graduates will be employable. Are we keeping that promise?

How can our degree programmes prepare future graduates to be employable and equipped? Chathura Sooriya-Arachchi envisages a better way

Chathura Sooriya-Arachchi

University of Westminster

podcast graphic featuring Julia Priess-Buchheit and Sarahanne Field

Campus Talks: How is AI affecting open research?

Learn about the advances, risks and challenges that are shaping open research practices, including artificial intelligence, from two experts based in Europe

Julia Priess-Buchheit, Sarahanne Field, Eliza Compton

Kiel University, University of Groningen

Asian female financial student doing calculations

If a chatbot can pass your assignment, you are grading the wrong thing

Any task whose assessed object is a final number or tidy conclusions is not measuring students’ thinking, writes Lucas Long. He shares three ways to put the reasoning back at the centre of learning

Lucas Long

University of West Florida

Eight ways universities can foster an open research culture now

Make open research routine by creating a culture that welcomes questions and acknowledges uncertainty. Here’s how

Etienne Roesch

University of Reading

Illustration of robot hands holding a resume

AI’s fluent answers hide bias. Here’s how to teach students to see it

AI advice arrives confident and efficient, which is why students don’t always notice what it assumes or when they stop deciding for themselves. Kamila Miller offers four classroom practices that make bias and dependence visible

Kamila Miller

University of Reading

An army of toy robots stand in formation

How AI agents can get students reasoning and reflecting

Instead of giving students answers at the touch of a button, what if we designed AI agents to support active learning? Here’s how it works

Chu Mui Kim, Tammy Wong Ting Xin

Singapore Institute of Technology

Assessing students’ academic writing when AI can produce a first draft

When finished text no longer reliably indicates students’ ability to produce structured formal prose, educators can ask them to show more of their writing and judgement process

Igor B. Martins

Lund University

Design learning experiences students cannot outsource to AI

A good class creates a sequence of mental events that cannot be outsourced: prediction, surprise, judgement, revision and retrieval, writes Emilia Samit

Emilia Samit

Nebrija University

An illustration of a robot on a green background

Outreach activities for AI literacy: from sparking curiosity to lifelong learning

Four principles for embedding AI literacy in university outreach, to create a sustainable learning ecosystem

Kenneth Wai-Ting Leung

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Teaching AI use in music for intercultural perspectives

One way to navigate the tension between fear of AI’s impact on creativity and using it to enhance these processes is to take a human-centred approach to its use. Hyesoo Yoo explains

Hyesoo Yoo

Virginia Tech

Three shifts in course design to update pedagogies for the AI era

How can education truly prepare students for the unpredictability of the working world? Find three ways to encourage students to develop the skills they’ll need

Philip Y. Lam

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Male student working at laptop surrounded by images of documents

How document-grounded AI can support inclusive learning

When educators restrict an AI model to a defined collection of trusted inputs, they can introduce students to academic materials in a flexible and interactive way. Here, Imran Khan shares five practical insights

Imran Khan

Birmingham City University

A student consults an AI bot for study help

Make AI literacy a foundational element of your course design

With AI becoming commonplace in nearly every industry, educators need to intentionally integrate AI into the learning process. Here’s how to do it, ethically and transparently

Andrea Ramirez-Salgado, Darius Brown, Soohyoun Ahn, Tom Zhang

University of Florida

Move beyond technical skills and embed AI literacy that teaches students to question

Learning to use artificial intelligence effectively and responsibly is essential, but it is not enough. Educators should also prepare students to question, influence and shape the future of AI. Find out how

Katie Ledingham, Sarah Hartley

The University of Exeter

How to use AI voice cloning to accelerate online course design

An artificial intelligence voice-cloning feature can make video content production more time efficient, responsive and agile. This guide offers a practical, ethical road map for replicating instructor audio

Ramon Rodriguez, Winston M. King

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

The understanding gap – and how AI can help university educators close it

Students often fall behind long before assessments reveal it. Identifying gaps in understanding during teaching – and using AI for just-in-time support – could transform learning, writes Zabin Visram

Zabin Visram

Glion Institute of Higher Education

A woman walking up a leafy green structure extending up into the sky

Why AI makes a growth mindset fundamental for university students

How to encourage students to use AI as a reflective learning partner to strengthen weaknesses and respond to instructor feedback

Ana Li Zhong

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

The key to designing outreach activities students remember

Five ways to spark students’ curiosity during outreach activities and encourage them to keep exploring

Kenneth Wai-Ting Leung

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Medical students talk in a university corridor

Connecting the institutional dots for workforce readiness

Collaboration is proving critically important for changing workforce needs in the healthcare sector. Here’s how to make it part of your university’s culture

Walaa Awad

Colorado State University Global

University students at a desk surrounded by shelves full of books

Here’s how to show students what responsible AI use looks like

Well-designed assessments can highlight generative AI’s limitations, where it can provide support and what responsible practice looks like. Andrew Firr and Alex Fenton offer strategies

Andrew Firr, Alex Fenton

University of Chester

Using AI to create the practice opportunities online students need

For disciplines that depend on interpersonal skills such as communication, leadership, negotiation and mediation, AI can provide elusive experiential learning, particularly in asynchronous environments

Kathy Miller Perkins

Virginia Tech

A network of intelligent nodes representing AI agents

The moats are still shallow but the stakes are much higher

Why a freely downloadable Chinese model and a security breach at Hugging Face should make universities wary of signing exclusive AI contracts

Ben Swift

Australian National University

Young male college student studying in library

AI literacy cannot be bolted on to first-year courses

Future teachers, nurses, engineers, lawyers and business leaders need more than rules and policies about when to use AI. Inexperienced students benefit from courses that help them practise responsible judgement alongside foundational learning

Nicole Brownlie

The University of Southern Queensland

"AI" and "..." in speech bubbles superimposed over a chatroom webpage

How an AI-integrated anonymous chatroom boosted AI literacy and inclusion

A single course design choice helped make AI literacy intrinsic and opened up a way to level the playing field educationally

Fridolin Ting

The Education University of Hong Kong

Robot hand holding magnifying glass up to computer screen

How to make your academic work visible to AI

If you want the robots and LLMs to find your scholarly publications, you need to make your outputs legible, connected and repeatedly encountered

Darshan Vigneswaran

University of Amsterdam

Students play a game designed to improve their clinical communication

Why serious skills need serious play

Are your students struggling with role play? Game-based learning can offer structure, safety and feedback, especially when combined with AI support. Here’s how

Mark Anthony Chan Wen Kein

Singapore Institute of Technology

Beyond checkbox training: how to build university faculty’s digital fluency

How can institutions align digital training with the realities of academic work, professional identity and institutional culture? Here, five academics suggest design principles for effective skills development

Multiple authors

University of Chester, Kate Lindsay Consulting Ltd, University of Plymouth, University of Greenwich , Buckinghamshire New University

An illustration of a robot in a mortarboard

How universities can learn to live with AI

University policy and students’ practical use of AI are running in different directions. Higher education needs a collaborative approach, focused on human capability, write Doug Specht and Gunter Saunders

Doug Specht, Gunter Saunders

University of Westminster

A student uses an AI tool on their phone while working

Why timing matters for research into students’ GenAI misuse

Research into GenAI-assisted cheating across disciplines may not be showing the whole picture. Here’s what researchers should be doing to make sure their work stays relevant when technology is moving so quickly

Sara Brownell, Benjamin G. Chan

Arizona State University

A construction student uses a VR headset

How VR can embed the health and safety standards of the future

Virtual reality simulations can equip construction students with technical skills and impress on them the importance of safety. Find out how here

Tsang Yiu-Fai, Kevin Chan Yan-Wai

The Education University of Hong Kong

A ‘buffet’ model of faculty development to support evolving use of AI

A flexible, agile approach to AI skills development allows faculty and students to choose the guidance, resources and learning opportunities that best fit their roles and contexts

Ben Kei Daniel

University of Northern British Columbia

A student opens an AI chatbot in a lecture hall

Your students use GenAI. Let’s redesign learning so thinking still happens

We can’t put AI back in the box. Instead, higher education needs to find a way to make students think despite it

Soukaina Aijou

Al Akhawayn University

Two female college students discussing something in class

Navigating students’ AI concerns through improv and theatre techniques

Technical competency is far from the only aspect of preparing students for an AI-driven world. Ethics also deserves attention, writes Jon Catherwood-Ginn. He uses applied theatre to help students cultivate judgement, communication and decision-making skills

Jon Catherwood-Ginn

Virginia Tech

‘AI raises the premium on empathy-driven engineering’

As knowledge becomes increasingly accessible, engineering students will need deep understanding and intrapersonal intelligence to make product-design decisions with end users in mind

Andrew Koh

Singapore Management University

The answer to personalising education isn’t technological, it’s organisational

Is higher education too focused on tools and algorithms when it comes to personalised education? Perhaps there’s a simpler answer

Fabián Olmos

Universidad Austral

University students sitting at a table discussing a project

AI shaming is not AI literacy

Criticism of GenAI is necessary but ridiculing those who use it can damage trust, prevent disclosure and impact learning. Educators need better questions, better boundaries and better language. Sara Saravi offers suggestions

Sara Saravi

Loughborough University

The imperative for productive struggle

When AI can offer students the illusion of mastery, assessment design that includes ambiguity, choice, context and real-world values can encourage the effort that underpins deep learning

Karsten Mundel, Olivia Murray

University of Alberta

Black female professional working at computer

How to integrate AI-enabled lifelong learning across disciplines

The traditional boundary between a traditional degree and active professional development has permanently dissolved, writes Tim Brown. AI skills need to be taught in a similarly joined-up way

Tim Brown

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

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