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 student and an assessor roleplaying a client meeting

Interactive orals offer a solution to AI over-reliance in higher education

A scenario-based assessment method that promotes authentic learning can curb over-reliance on AI and build students’ professional communication skills. Here is a guide to interactive orals

Popi Sotiriadou , Dani Logan-Fleming

Griffith University, Torrens University

Campus talks: are we facing a crisis in critical thinking in higher education?

Two academic experts in strategic decision-making and education discuss critical thinking, why it is under threat and what role it plays in preparing students for their digitally curated futures

Olivier Sibony, Tony Wagner

HEC Paris, Learning Policy Institute

Brightly-coloured speech bubbles and avatars

Discussion forums: the key to AI-proof assessment?

Providing a supportive learning culture for students will make them less likely to cheat – and discussion forums, with a few tweaks, may be the way to do it

Edward Palmer

Adelaide University

How should assessors use AI for marking and feedback?

While much attention has focused on students’ use of GenAI, its potential to support assessors has mostly been overlooked. Here, Isabel Fischer shares draft principles co-created at a cross-institutional workshop to guide its responsible use in assessment, marking and feedback.

Isabel Fischer

The University of Warwick

An illustration of a team held aloft by a robot hand

Three reasons to harness AI for interdisciplinary collaboration

New advances in artificial intelligence could be used to communicate across disciplines and share knowledge more seamlessly. Here’s how

Raymond Chan

Hong Kong Baptist University

Critical thinking in teaching and research

Practical strategies and advice for university educators and researchers to develop and teach the skills to analyse, evaluate, understand and communicate knowledge in an information-saturated world

Eliza Compton, Campus contributors

Campus

Why universities in developing countries should prioritise data to maximise AI opportunities

By focusing on data quality, stewardship and governance, universities in low- and middle-income countries can harness AI’s potential to drive institutional growth, improve educational outcomes and foster equity in higher education

Cameron Mirza

International Research and Exchanges Board

Black male student looking thoughtfully at laptop screen

When AI asks: ‘Why?’ and facilitates critical thinking

Chatbots can be used at scale to mimic the Socratic method in university assessment and guide students to reflect on their thinking and reasoning process

Meryem Yilmaz Soylu

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

Illustration of two head outlines with lightbulbs

How to empower your university to integrate generative AI using tools and talent you already have

Many institutions must navigate limited resources, uncertainty around tools and questions of capacity if they are to embrace generative AI. This guide outlines six practical, scalable steps that build on expertise and institutional strengths

Jon Demiglio

ESMT Berlin

Beyond the buzz: how AI can be a coach, not a competitor, in the university classroom

Placing teaching tasks along a spectrum between AI and human strengths can help university educators make use of the best of both worlds

Meena Jha, Michael Cowling, Josiah Koh, Kwong Nui Sim

Central Queensland University, RMIT University, Western Sydney University

(Re)learning critical reading in the age of GenAI

Rather than pretending students can – or even should – avoid GenAI to become critical readers, we need to develop their critical reading skills so they can successfully interrogate AI-produced materials

Brendan Carey

The University of Exeter

An illustration of a woman with a laptop sitting on a giant chip

Are students outsourcing the wrong tasks to AI?

Students are using AI to tackle tasks that could be crucial to intellectual development. How can educators judge which tasks to offload and which ones are important for learning?

Alex Grzankowski

Birkbeck, University of London

A robot hand holds out a glowing lightbulb

Three AI-focused grids to future-proof your course design

Instead of shaping assessment around policing the use of AI, we need to adopt a holistic approach that helps students and educators judge how much AI use is pedagogically appropriate. These three grids can offer insight

Sean McMinn

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Young male student looking perplexed with mobile phone

Fighting falsehoods at the speed of the scroll

With students subjected to a steady stream of memes and manipulated narratives, teaching media literacy isn’t something university educators should do; it’s something they must. Cayce Myers offers advice for a misinformation age

Cayce Myers

Virginia Tech

Bringing GenAI into the university classroom

How to use generative AI to improve teaching, rethink assessment, reduce course admin and equip students with AI literacy and other career enhancing skills

Campus contributors

Campus

When we encourage AI use, how can we still assess student thinking?

As more university educators encourage students to use GenAI, how can we ensure assessments still reward critical thinking and originality? Isabel Fischer reflects on emerging usage patterns and shares practical design tips for meaningful, AI-inclusive assessment

Isabel Fischer

The University of Warwick

An illustration of a robot operating a clapperboard

Use AI to refine educational video content

In the digital era, educational videos have become a key element of online and blended classes. Amy Chong outlines how generative AI can be a game changer for creating engaging, adaptable video content

Amy Chong

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Redefining the university library for 2025 and beyond

Redefining the university library for 2025 and beyond

University libraries must keep pace with the many changes sweeping across global higher education in order to serve students, researchers and the wider public. In this guide, library teams and academics offer advice on how to do so

Kiera O’Brien, Campus contributors

Campus

‘As a teacher of responsible business, I’m banning GenAI in my classroom’

We need our students to develop intellectual curiosity, to respect each other enough to want to hear each other, and become informed, thoughtful citizens, writes Maja Korica. Generative AI is getting in the way of that

Maja Korica

IÉSEG School of Management

Ready your teaching for the AI era with this six-part framework

AI can help educators reclaim what they love most about teaching – but they need to approach it with an intentional mindset. The six steps of the THRIVE framework can guide the way

Patrick Lynch

Hult International Business School (Ashridge)

Young Asian female students giving presentation

Machine v human skills: what do we teach now?

Human-centred abilities such as curiosity, adaptability and self-reflection are rising in importance as AI threatens to automate routine tasks. Here are ways educators can prepare students for the workforce of the future

Lynda Wee

Nanyang Technological University

Eight ways to embrace AI’s flexibility to bring different teams together

AI has rapidly moved from the domain of computer science into the daily lives of university staff and academics, but are we joining up the changes happening across higher education? Find out how to use it to break down boundaries between teams

Lakshmi Goel, Yassine Benrqya

Al Akhawayn University

A library book being removed from a shelf

Higher education library roles explained

Libraries are changing with the times – and so is the librarian’s role. Here’s how librarians are specialising in the digital era

Chris Chan

Hong Kong Baptist University

An illustration of a robot soaring upwards on an arrow

Leading a personal development review? Think about GenAI for scholarship

With personal development reviews taking place over the summer, perhaps this is the moment to focus on how teaching and learning practitioners are using GenAI for efficiency in terms of scholarship

Steve Briggs

University of Bedfordshire

An illustration of various employees tapping into AI

A four-part framework to categorise AI tools for research

How to use AI tools to assist in research, for each phase of the process

Eric Tsui

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

A virtual illustration of a book guides a student working on a laptop

What do students want from AI-assisted teaching?

In an age of AI, educators and students need ways to ensure the technology complements learning rather than detracts from or homogenises it

Omar Merlo , Nai Li

Imperial College London

A group of students working on a project together in a classroom

Three ways to get students using GenAI in project-based learning

How to use project-based learning to address ethical concerns and improve students’ AI literacy, including key questions to ask yourself before introducing the tools

Ka Ho To

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

What happens when AI writes the appeal

As students increasingly use generative AI to craft assessment appeals, university staff face new challenges in maintaining the integrity of academic feedback. Here’s how we can adapt to preserve meaningful learning relationships in the face of optimisation

Jonathan Boymal

RMIT University

Artificial intelligence in the university library

AI skills for tomorrow’s university librarians

University librarians need to understand how to guide students and faculty in using AI tools ethically and effectively. In the future, they will be not only information experts but also AI facilitators. Yinlin Chen offers advice on laying the groundwork

Yinlin Chen

Virginia Tech

AI-proof project-based assessments by making them context-specific

Project-based assessments rooted in real-world, institution-specific contexts help reduce over-reliance on GenAI by emphasising collaboration, oral defence and critical thinking. Learn how to design one effectively

Oliver Jarvest , Ying Zhou, Simon Sheridan

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

How we use GenAI and AR to improve students’ design skills

Guidance on using generative AI and augmented reality to enhance student creativity, spatial awareness and interdisciplinary collaboration

Multiple authors

Tecnológico de Monterrey, El Bosque University, San Sebastián University

University professor teaching with laptop

Flip-Zoom-open: how Covid and AI transformed my classroom

Maybe the uncertainty of the pandemic resulted in a few positives to university teaching? Here, Perry Binder reflects on lockdown’s seismic shifts

Perry Binder

Georgia State University

University libraries’ modern role in supporting faculty and graduate research

When research is increasingly computational, interdisciplinary and comprised of multi-institutional teams who frequently collaborate virtually, university libraries must keep pace to support faculty and graduate students, as Tyler Walters explains

Tyler Walters

Virginia Tech

Prometheus concept of technological innovation

Cultivating a responsible innovation mindset among future tech leaders

The classroom is a perfect place to discuss the messy, real-world consequences of technological discoveries, writes Andreas Alexiou. Beyond ‘How?’, students should be asking ‘Should we…?’ and ‘What if…?’ questions around ethics and responsibility

Andreas Alexiou

University of Southampton

Seven questions to ask when reforming academic skills services

With academic skills services facing a perfect storm of challenges, many are under review. Here’s how to make sure your students’ needs are being effectively met, through seven questions

Steve Briggs, Ralitsa Kantcheva

University of Bedfordshire

‘What I learned when students walked out of my AI class’

Chris Hogg found the question of using AI to create art troubled his students deeply. Here’s how the moment led to deeper understanding for both student and educator

Chris Hogg

Royal Holloway, University of London

Less is more when it comes to AI in teaching

As more educators adopt AI, the risk of becoming overwhelmed by the tools increases. Here are four practical strategies to prevent this

Bin Feng, Garth Elzerman

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

A robot types on a laptop while a bored student slumps beside it

In the AI era, how do we battle cognitive laziness in students?

With the latest AI technology now able to handle complex problem-solving processes, will students risk losing their own cognitive engagement? Metacognitive scaffolding could be the answer, writes Sean McMinn

Sean McMinn

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Two people interview a candidate, just out of shot

Prepare your students for the job market: part two

In the second part of this two-part series, find out how to coach your students to excel in interviews, from pre-meeting prep to a perfect thank you message

Julio Gimenez, Juan C. Palmer, Miguel F. Ruiz-Garrido

University of Westminster, Universitat Jaume I

A phone screen with several different GenAI apps displayed

Can we use GenAI to subvert the neoliberal university?

Generative AI can be a tool of resistance against the corporatisation of higher education – or it can be just another distraction to make us ‘zombies in the loop’ of the system. Here is how we can choose the former

Richard McInnes

Adelaide University

From ‘filler’ to ‘fulfilling’: how to change students’ perceptions of a course

Ways to employ tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot to show students the real-world relevance of so-called filler courses

Elizabeth Marcial Morales

Tecnológico de Monterrey

When GenAI resets the assessment baseline

Generative AI is forcing university educators to raise their own bar on creativity, assessment and expectations. Here’s how one teacher reassessed their assignment

Chris Jones

Regent’s University London

Academic publishing today: what you need to know

A guide to the complex and changing world of academic publishing and how to work with it to get your research out there

Campus contributors

Campus

Prepare your students for the job market: part one

How can you guide your students to make themselves stand out in a crowded field? In the first of a two-part series, discover six strategies to hone job applications to perfection

Julio Gimenez, Juan C. Palmer, Miguel F. Ruiz-Garrido

University of Westminster, Universitat Jaume I

Using small-scale ChatGPT integration to introduce online students to GenAI

Integration of ChatGPT into online learning does not have to be a huge project. A small-scale, flexible writing task can address your students’ needs. But if they are working professionals, you should know their capacity for using technology

Jonathan Zaccarini

Columbia University

Guard rails to mitigate ethical concerns for AI use

Artificial intelligence can vastly improve productivity and advance innovation, but integrating AI into academia brings significant ethical implications. These policies and procedures could help mitigate these concerns

Qin Zhu

Virginia Tech

Female college professor helping male student

Only a human will do: when to eschew AI in teaching and research

Artificial intelligence tools have streamlined processes and accelerated innovations – efficiencies not lost on higher education. But at times, we need to prioritise human judgement and involvement, as Qin Zhu explains

Qin Zhu

Virginia Tech

A lecturer at the front of class presenting to students

Student insight can shape the way we use GenAI in teaching

Students tend to be more comfortable with teachers using GenAI to support, rather than fully generate, learning materials. The key is to use it effectively and communicate your approach transparently

Svetoslav G. Georgiev, Joseph Tinsley

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Illustration of an elephant in a library

‘Using GenAI is easier than asking my supervisor for support’

Doctoral researchers are turning to generative AI to assist in their research. How are they using it, and how can supervisors and candidates have frank discussions about using it responsibly?

Ross English, Rebecca Nash, Heather Mackenzie

University of Southampton

Should we kill the essay?

Long-form writing seems to have become a battleground for the showdown between AI and academic integrity. With technology exposing the essay’s flaws, Luke Zaphir offers ways to reinforce this storied assessment task

Luke Zaphir

The University of Queensland

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