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.

Laptop with cloud of letters coming out of screen

Has AI cost academia the joy of text?

Rather than asking what writing can be outsourced to AI, we might first ask which parts of the process need to remain slow, imperfect and human, argue four academics

Viktoria Magne, Sharon Vince, Sarah Hooper, Rebecca Mace

University of West London, University of Worcester

Conversations with bots: teaching students how – and when – to use GenAI for academic writing

A four-step process teaches students how to use GenAI tools to brainstorm ideas, understand and act on feedback and edit their essays in line with assessment rubrics

Joseph Tinsley, Huimin He

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Pluralistic idealism alone won’t govern the future

AI governance is treated as an ethics problem, when it is increasingly a question of control, authority and speed. As AI systems reshape admissions, assessment and student support, universities need to govern what is live, not what looks good on paper

Alistair Sackley

University of Southampton

Harness the power of your university librarian in the age of information chaos

Find out how to tap the mine of knowledge your university library has, for trustworthy research sources, data expertise and information literacy advice

Ben Meunier

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

How to design and supervise GenAI-integrated doctoral research

Strategies for research supervisors and curriculum designers when embedding GenAI in research activities

Kate Abraham

Hult International Business School (Ashridge)

Beyond bans: AI-resilient and creative HE assessment design

To sustain academic integrity in an AI-present learning environment, educators must redesign assessment to foreground judgement, context and creative ownership, says Jasmine Mohsen

Jasmine Mohsen

SP Jain London School of Management

A man sitting at a laptop concentrates hard on a document

A practical tool for valid assessments in the GenAI-enabled university

An assessment flowchart can help guide educators through the delicate balance of whether or not to allow GenAI in their assignment design. Here’s how it works

Rebecca Smith, Paul Moss, Sasikala Rathnappulige, Carina Correas

Adelaide University

Students smiling outside a university building

Students told us what GenAI guidance works. Here’s their advice

Students are using GenAI whether you’ve addressed it or not. Here’s how to provide the clarity they’re asking for

Tom Ritchie, Yanyan Li

The University of Warwick

A woman stands in front of a class, holding a laptop

What your students are actually doing with GenAI

A student survey delved into how and why they use GenAI tools in their studies, and how they felt about it. Find out how this can inform teaching

Julio Gimenez, Katherine Mansfield, Richard Paterson

University of Westminster

GenAI isn’t for the big ideas, it’s for the tedious jobs that spark them

The small, repetitive tasks that are crucial to research can drain your time and energy. Instead, let’s hand over the grunt work to GenAI

Qinghua Chen, Angel Lin, Yiqi Liu

The Education University of Hong Kong

Campus Talks: ‘Use your brain!’ And other pointers from a seasoned computer scientist on using AI in research

Hear a leading researcher in artificial intelligence discuss the potential of these digital tools for advancing knowledge and what effective and ethical AI use looks like

Karin Verspoor, Miranda Prynne

RMIT University, Campus

A robot uses a microscope in a laboratory

Balance human intuition with machine efficiency in scientific research

AI can automate scientific experiments quickly, efficiently and accurately – but what are we losing in the process? Here’s how to strike a balance

Mohamed Hussein

Dubai Medical University

A lecturer giving an engaging presentation in front of a class full of students

AI can help you unearth the story in your lectures

How AI can help you separate ‘making sense’ from design, build a clear story arc and create a visual narrative that earns attention and trust

Irina Gokh

De Montfort University

Use the five stages of grief to guide academic staff through AI adoption

As generative AI reshapes teaching and assessment, resistance is often as emotional as it is pedagogical. Drawing on Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ framework, Michael Mehmet and Rushana Khusainova offer advice for supporting staff through the realities of AI adoption

Michael Mehmet, Rushana Khusainova

The University of Bristol, University of Wollongong

A researcher reading a pile of books next to a robot with a trolley of more books

GenAI as a research assistant

GenAI is reshaping research, from accelerating discovery to easing administrative burdens. Discover practical guidance on how researchers can use these tech tools effectively and ethically

Campus contributors, Laura Duckett

Campus

Ethical AI: safeguards for the research revolution

Artificial intelligence can accelerate discovery in ways humans alone cannot. For Hongliang Xin, the key is pairing AI’s power with ethical safeguards, institutional governance and responsible oversight

Hongliang Xin

Virginia Tech

A hand sketching prototype designs amongst rulers and other tools

Teaching design in 3D: blending sketching, AI and AR

GenAI can do more than generate images – it can spark design students’ ability to imagine objects and spaces in 3D. Here’s how

Lesly Pliego , Fernanda Peña, Antonio Juárez

Tecnológico de Monterrey

A student writing an essay by hand in a library

From shortcut to support: GenAI’s role in essay-writing

A guide to moving beyond panic and prohibition, showing how educators can set clear, evidence-informed boundaries that turn GenAI from an essay-writing shortcut into a meaningful learning support

Luis Moisés López Flores

Tecnológico de Monterrey

A male student working on his laptop in the library

When GenAI makes answers cheap, assessment must value judgement

Generative AI has not broken assessment; it has exposed its weaknesses. Moving beyond bans and blind adoption requires redesigning assessment to reclaim pedagogical agency and make student judgement visible

Kisito F. Nzembayie

Trinity College Dublin

AI and human collaboration concept illustration

Harnessing AI to expand scientific discovery

From drug design to climate modelling, artificial intelligence can process data at scales far beyond human capacity. Hongliang Xin argues that the future of research lies in harnessing agentic AI through human-guided discovery

Hongliang Xin

Virginia Tech

From model collapse to citation collapse: risks of over-reliance on AI in the academy

The way GenAI surfaces sources for literature reviews risks exacerbating the citation Matthew effect, writes David Joyner. Here, he offers ways to prevent AI-driven search from blunting the impact of new research

David Joyner

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

A conductor gestures with a baton against a black blackground

Be the conductor of your own GenAI orchestra for academic writing

Instead of using a single GenAI tool to create a one-note research paper, why not tune up an orchestra of machine assistants?

Aditi Jhaveri, Nora Binte Hussin, Siyang Zhou

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Beyond search: how AI agents are redefining research

AI-augmented research can speed up processes such as literature review and data synthesis. Here, Ali Shiri looks at functionality of three AI agents

Ali Shiri

University of Alberta

How I use AI tools to enhance EFL students’ speaking skills

AI tools can help students of English as a foreign language build confidence in academic speaking by offering structured practice opportunities, personalised feedback and support with idea generation. Ka Ho To explains how

Ka Ho To

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Let’s teach students to see the fingerprints

Does humanities education still have value when machines can generate art at the touch of a button? Yes, if we reframe our thinking, writes Renia Lopez-Ozieblo

Renia Lopez-Ozieblo

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Female Asian college student writing in library on a laptop

‘Students don’t have to prove authorship of every word, they show their supervision of AI tools’

When all students are required to use generative AI for every assignment, their practice can be more rigorous, transparent and deeply reflective. Here, Tiatemsu Longkumer explains a rubric

Tiatemsu Longkumer

Royal Thimphu College

How Carmen and the humanities can embed the skills GenAI can’t

A cultural programme centred on the opera Carmen lit a flame of engagement in students. Here’s how the humanities reach parts of the human psyche that GenAI could never touch

Renia Lopez-Ozieblo

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

A teacher works with students on GenAI literacy

How to evolve with GenAI: an educator’s guide

The launch of GenAI has prompted a new stage of experimentation for university education. Here’s how to explore and refine, finding out what works and what doesn’t

Lin Yue

Adelaide University

Four common arguments for acknowledging AI use (and why they are wrong)

Educators may want AI to be used well or to go away entirely, write Chloe Salisbury and Luke Zaphir. Here, they take on a central piece of AI lore and offer ways forward

Chloe Salisbury, Luke Zaphir

The University of Queensland

Three students working together in a library

How to reclaim humanity in the AI classroom

As GenAI changes how students study and complete assessments, higher education educators must focus on metacognition, clarity and connection, says Patrice Seuwou

Patrice Seuwou

University of Northampton

Students work together around a desktop computer

Two ways to embed transferable skills in university teaching

Students need the skills to thrive in an uncertain job market. Positioning GenAI as a study buddy and student-led business clinics can help develop them

Mark Elliot, James Moran, Venetia Tzanni

University of Westminster

Computer-generated 3D illustration of Titanic liner

In a world of short attention spans, the best story wins

When students become storytellers, rather than passive recipients of knowledge, learning is more memorable. And a little help from GenAI can get them started

Natalie Cummins

University of Technology Sydney

A robot in a mortarboard poses with a diploma

A university blueprint for teaching with GenAI

How a human-centred approach to embedding GenAI ensures the tool enhances human reasoning, rather than replacing it, institution-wide

Abderrahim Agnaou

Al Akhawayn University

How can we embed Global South perspectives in GenAI teaching?

GenAI can accelerate learning, but if we aren’t careful, it can also reinforce colonial assumptions. Jasmine Mohsen explains how to avoid this

Jasmine Mohsen

SP Jain London School of Management

Assessment needs to grow up: what process and imperfection mean for higher education

Rather than railing against AI, educators could see this moment as an overdue correction and redesign assessment around what matters: the process by which humans think, revise and learn

Pontus Wärnestål

Halmstad University

AI tools that strengthen students’ communication skills

AI can help students reflect, practise and improve the skills employers really value, from writing clearly to speaking confidently and working effectively in teams

Nelly Ramirez Vásquez , Gabriela Espínola Carballo, Carla Camacho

Tecnológico de Monterrey

Male Asian student working on a robot arm

GenAI as a research assistant: transforming start-up due diligence

Universities are not just centres of innovation, they are also platforms for promoting the commercialisation of research. As ‘research assistants’, GenAI can open the door for ‘under the radar’ start-ups that human evaluators may miss

Tiam Lin Sze

Singapore Management University

Use GenAI as your personal learner engagement analytics expert

Harness the student data in your virtual learning environment with a few choice prompts for GenAI

Stephen Buckingham

Queen Mary University of London

University students sitting at their desks

Why clear GenAI guidance matters to neurodivergent students. And how to get it right

Neurodivergent students often experience heightened anxiety when GenAI expectations vary across courses. Here’s how to design more consistent guidance

Jayne Quoiani

The University of Edinburgh

Campus talks: why teaching with artificial intelligence is ‘like a giant field experiment’

THE Award-winning educationalist Jenny Moffett talks about using AI so it supports learning rather than risks deskilling students, dealing with uncertainty in the classroom and the value of boredom

Jenny Moffett

RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

Not faster but fairer: tame ‘techno-solutionism’ to build inclusive futures with AI

University leaders and academics must resist an open-armed embrace of AI and ask tough questions about who, really, is benefitting from its use in order to shape an inclusive future, writes Chie Adachi

Chie Adachi

Queen Mary University of London

Teaching responsible use of GenAI in graduate studies

When graduate students learn to use AI transparently, to seek approvals, respect Indigenous consent and critically assess outputs, they develop skills essential for both academic success and professional practice

Katerina Standish

University of Northern British Columbia

Students use their laptops in class, looking focused

‘GenAI and critical thinking can – and should – work together’ 

Find out how to encourage critical thinking in the university classroom by working with GenAI tools, rather than against them 

Joel Davis, Jane Southworth, Kati Migliaccio

University of Florida

A student leaping from the exam hall into the real world

The evolution of authentic assessment in higher education

Practical advice on assessing students’ skills and application of learning in real-world, professional contexts

Campus contributors

Campus

THE Awards 2025: lessons from the stars of UK and Irish higher education

Learn from leading voices, innovative teams and individuals across the university sector, whose work has been recognised in the shortlist for this year’s Times Higher Education Awards

Campus contributors, Eliza Compton

Campus

Use GenAI to slow down and reflect more deeply

University staff are under pressure to produce more with less. But what if, instead of using GenAI to save time, we took a slower approach?

Sam Illingworth

Edinburgh Napier University

What happened to creativity in the classroom?

When generative AI leads 150 students to submit the same ‘creative’ work, something is afoot in arts and humanities education. Here, Leah Henrickson and Luke Zaphir turn insights from cognitive science into ways to use AI to boost students’ creativity

Leah Henrickson, Luke Zaphir

The University of Queensland

An illustration of an AI with glasses, reading a book

Librarians, it’s time to lead the way

When GenAI first landed, many universities scrambled to understand it and how students might be using it. One library team took it upon themselves to adopt a holistic approach

Chris Porter

Birmingham Newman University

AI as an access tool for neurodiverse and international staff

Used transparently and ethically, GenAI can level the playing field and lower the cognitive load of repetitive tasks for admin staff, student support and teachers

Vanessa Mar-Molinero

University of Southampton

An illustration of a businessman attempting to hit three targets with one bow

Why range may be a crucial skill for the employees of the future

Students today will be treading a career path that doesn’t exist yet. Here’s how to encourage them to develop the agility and resilience they’ll need for an uncertain world

Yılmaz Köylü

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

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