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.

A female professor at her laptop in the library

Safeguards against GenAI hallucination in literature reviews

Generative AI can speed up literature reviews, but it can also produce convincing false references. Learn practical strategies to help researchers use AI tools while keeping their work anchored in real, verifiable research

Jie Zhang, Lili Jiu, Yi Luo

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Young black woman and older woman working on logistics

Assessing students when artificial intelligence is ubiquitous

If we continue to prioritise memorisation in an age of wall-to-wall information, we send the wrong message to our students and employers. Michelle Seref offers advice on assessment that builds critical thinking skills

Michelle Seref

Virginia Tech

92 year-old Jewish Holocaust survivor, Larry Heimlich of Chicago, reading a dedication plaque at a Holocaust Monument

The gap between facts and understanding: helping students confront AI’s failings

Students often accept AI output without questioning it. Designing assignments where the tool fails – visibly and meaningfully – can change that, as Jan Burzlaff explains

Jan Burzlaff

Cornell University

People hold up a picture frame to a classroom

Reframe assessment as part of learning

How to model assessment as a tool for learning as well as a method of evaluation, in a GenAI-enabled world

Campus contributors, Kiera O’Brien

Campus

Male students presents to his classmates

Think again: reclaiming our ‘cognitive debt’ from AI

GenAI’s insidious impact on human intellectual development calls for a return to the foundations of education – reading, writing and debating, writes Shahriar Akter

Shahriar Akter

University of Wollongong

Detail of man writing music on an electric guitar

How universal design for learning can build AI proficiency

The most transformative uses of AI in teaching may have to do with how we design courses. Kim Loeffert explains how to use AI to bring UDL principles into learning and assessment

Kim Loeffert

Virginia Tech

Why AI literacy belongs in the first-year experience

Embedding AI literacy early ensures every student gains essential understanding of systems, ethics and responsible use, closing gaps left by optional or uneven provision. Learn how

Leocadia I. Zak

Agnes Scott College

Bored students sit slumped in a lecture hall

Dear educators, Gen Z here. Could you please teach us like it’s 2026?

Learning has changed drastically in the past five years, but teaching practices haven’t caught up. From your students’ perspective, here’s how to adapt

Sara Brownell

Arizona State University

An illustration of a robot holding a lightbulb

Vibe coding belongs in your university’s GenAI literacy strategy

Most AI training teaches staff to use tools. Here’s a practical case for teaching them to build – and what we learned from doing so

Simon Wang, Nancy Guo, Kaitai Zhang

Hong Kong Baptist University

‘Small changes in assessment design can make thinking visible’

Many concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on academic integrity and authorship have focused on controlling the tool rather than reconsidering the task, writes Nicole Brownlie. Here, she offers a shift to assess process, not just answers

Nicole Brownlie

The University of Southern Queensland

A pharmaceutical machine inspector at work in science laboratory

What does AI literacy in healthcare look like?

Done well, AI literacy helps students remain safe, critical, communicative and accountable in environments where digital systems are becoming more visible, writes Andrew Barker. Here, he outlines strategies to embed it in healthcare education

Andy Barker

University of Hull

Distorted reflection of a man walking in the street

How AI is quietly distorting academic enquiry – and what to do about it

If students rely on AI summaries as starting points – or substitutes for enquiry – they risk bypassing the processes higher education is designed to cultivate: comparison, evaluation and critical analysis. Cayce Myers offers solutions

Cayce Myers

Virginia Tech

GenAI has destroyed grading – and it’s made me a better instructor

Instead of a six-page research paper turned in at the end of a course, here’s how to focus on the real-time learning that happens between leaps of understanding and moments of doubt

Dan Sarofian-Butin

Merrimack College

A pair of scales showing a balance between a pile of books and an AI bot

GenAI has not broken assessment. It has exposed it

An assessment system that rewards polished work above judgement can’t function in a GenAI-enabled world. Here’s how to build one that can

Lucy Gill-Simmen

Royal Holloway, University of London

Man's hands over laptop keyboard with figures and speech bubbles

GenAI has turned teachers into auditors

When educators have to police how students use AI, and gatekeeping adds to the workload and emotional toll, teaching loses its joy, write Meena Jha and Amara Atif. Here are ways to reclaim the role of educator

Meena Jha, Amara Atif

Central Queensland University, University of Technology Sydney

How should universities define AI proficiency?

AI literacy is increasingly seen as fundamental knowledge for students. How can educators set the parameters that ensure proficient use of artificial intelligence across the institution, regardless of discipline? Junghwan Kim offers advice

Junghwan Kim

Virginia Tech

Woman talking into smartphone, AI as student support

‘AI should support student services, not impersonate them’

Are universities ready for GenAI in student support? When chatbots seem to offer a scalable, cost-effective way to meet rising demand for student support, universities need to consider how to shape their use without outsourcing care or increasing risk

Michael Cowling, Joseph Crawford

RMIT University, University of Tasmania

A woman works at a laptop in a library setting

Five steps to embed GenAI literacy for university librarians

The library can be the perfect place to promote GenAI literacy, not only for students but for academics too. These five steps can help

Liliana González

Universidad del Caribe (UNICARIBE)

A female student on her laptop smiling to camera

Students are asking for AI guidance, not just policy

The defining educational challenge of this decade is to equip students to use AI ethically, critically and efficiently, write Mahmoud Elkhodr and Ergun Gide. Here, they offer a way forward

Mahmoud Elkhodr, Ergun Gide

Central Queensland University

Blocks showing man making path between bombs to idea

How to support students to learn from, with, about and beyond AI

Educators should not be competing with chatbots and large language models. Instead, a continuum can help them guide students from passive learning from AI to synthesising information alongside it

Tan Seng Chee

Nanyang Technological University

The questions publishing students need to be asking about GenAI

As creative industries grapple with the prospect of AI-generated content, how can educators hone critical thinking skills in the book publishers of the future? Find advice here

Miriam Johnson

Oxford Brookes University

GenAI practice blossoms through the open exchange of insights

How a structured GenAI professional development series, built around practice, peer voices and multiple entry points, fosters open exchange among colleagues, universities and industry

Samuel Doherty

The University of Newcastle, Australia

Man falling into laptop screen with numbers in cords in background

‘If you like, I can….?’ Why GenAI needs to come with a health warning

Warnings about the dependency-forming tricks of GenAI are unlikely to change student behaviour, even as they fear its effects on learning. Educators need to help students recognise engagement loops for themselves, writes Adrian Wallbank

Adrian J. Wallbank

Oxford Brookes University

Design students working together in class

‘AI turns the classroom from structured event into improv class’

Rethinking the role of the teacher builds on alternatives to scripted material, such as studio-style sessions, flipped problem-based work, team-based clinics, Socratic debates, in-class case simulations and live data analysis

Dirk Hovy

Bocconi University

‘Our agency over our words is central to our agency over ourselves’

Learning to use an LLM is easy but developing human intellect is hard – and that’s what the university classroom should be for. Here’s how to help students work on their mental muscles

Carla Arnell

Lake Forest College

Detail of medic drawing a vaccination shot

Inoculating students against AI-generated scientific misinformation

GenAI raises an urgent pedagogical question for universities: how can we train students to evaluate scientific claims critically when the language of scholarship can be so convincingly simulated?

Elissar Gerges

Zayed University

How business schools can turn AI from ‘threat’ to ‘sustainability enabler’

Business schools can move beyond seeing AI as a sustainability risk by embedding it across teaching, strategy and collaboration, says Meelis Kitsing

Meelis Kitsing

Estonian Business School

A group of students and a teacher having a discussion in a library

Build information literacy with AI: a teaching librarian approach

Teach students to use AI appropriately for research tasks by showing them the tools’ strengths and limitations and by promoting critical reflection, says Callum Perry

Callum Perry

The University of East Anglia

A student and an old man chat in a virtual surrounding

Using GenAI avatars to assess empathy: how it works in practice

Could GenAI offer a new way to assess communication skills? Here’s what happened when a university team built an avatar

May Lim, Caleb Or

Singapore Institute of Technology

Students in a boardroom working on a company project

Every AI learning persona needs an origin story

Anna, a fictional social responsibility consultant, mentors students analysing a company in crisis. Her story shows how thoughtfully designed AI personas can turn simple chat interactions into immersive learning experiences

Lorena Quilantán García

Tecnológico de Monterrey

An illustration of AI helping a student work

GenAI as a teaching colleague in assessment: a case study

GenAI can be a useful tool in assessment – if used intentionally. Find out what an intelligent dashboard can do for your students’ relationship to GenAI

Belén Pagone

Universidad Austral

A teacher stands in front of a projector screen

Show students what thoughtful engagement with GenAI looks like

Face it: students are going to use GenAI whether we ban it or not. Let’s support them to use it purposefully and curiously

Walaa Awad

Colorado State University Global

Learning by doing in a GenAI-enabled world

The best way for students to learn is by doing. But now GenAI is a non-negotiable in university teaching, what does that mean? Renia Lopez-Ozieblo explores

Renia Lopez-Ozieblo

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

A teacher explains a circuit board to a class

GenAI can join the dots, so teach students to draw new lines in empty space

GenAI tools are getting better at tasks such as sorting data, writing basic reports and generating simple code. That’s why higher education needs to focus on what it can’t do

Darkhan Bilyalov, Luis R. Rojas-Solórzano

Nazarbayev University

Beat GenAI ‘stranger danger’ with staff training

Higher education staff are apprehensive about the new stranger in the room: GenAI. But personalisation and staff development can help alleviate anxiety

Katie Steen

WorkSmart-AI

Why GenAI helps some students but not others (and what to do about it)

GenAI can boost learning on average, according to research – but individual outcomes vary widely. Here’s how to help every student benefit

Oguz A. Acar

King’s College London

From library to dance floor: how I created an academic Eurotrance album

Academics can use AI-enabled music platforms to transform complex research into their own singles or albums reaching thousands of listeners. Andrew Hudson-Smith explains how

Andrew Hudson-Smith

UCL

‘Your bot of choice is not a filing cabinet’

With GenAI taking a larger role in research and education, Sorin Krammer looks at the data management habits academics can no longer ignore

Sorin M. S. Krammer

University of Southampton

A professor holding a document in a library

AI governance is a duty of care, not a branding exercise

If governance becomes practical, proportionate and iterative, universities can foster exactly what they claim to value: responsible, creative experimentation, writes Garth Elzerman

Garth Elzerman

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

AI won’t replace qualitative researchers – it might help them

Large language models may not simply replicate human analyses of qualitative data; they can offer additional insights and both challenge researchers' assumptions and prompt further reflection on their interpretations

Dimitris Raidos, Sarah Jenner

Ipsos UK, University of Southampton

A teacher discusses with students in the classroom

Tips on using GenAI to make the university classroom more interactive

Find out how to deploy GenAI tools to increase participation, tailor learning to each student’s needs and foster collaboration across disciplines

Ijeoma (Angel) Ojukwu , Sam Opio

University of Westminster

Balancing use of AI when doing academic writing

Yes, GenAI can make academic writing easier without making us less scholarly

Generative AI does not change scholarship’s foundations of judgement, authorship and care, but it does require academics to apply them more intentionally when writing

Nicole Brownlie

The University of Southern Queensland

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

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