National centre for AI

Accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence across the tertiary education sector.

Supporting human-led education

From chatbots and digital assistants to adaptive learning platforms and predictive analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to help educators better understand and meet the needs of their learners.

The national centre for AI in tertiary education exists to support members in using artificial intelligence effectively.

Discover what AI has to offer

From chatbots and hand tracking tools to automated image classification and speech analysis, explore our range of interactive demonstrations.

Take a look at our interactive map of UK institutions already utilising AI to improve their processes.

Become a part of our AI community

Keep up to date on the centre’s work and share your expertise and experiences around the uses of artificial intelligence (AI).

Join Jisc's AI community.

Gain insight into the future of AI in education

Our latest report on artificial intelligence in tertiary education is a primer on what AI can do, what the future holds, and what to consider in order to implement it ethically.

Read the AI in tertiary education report.

Publications and resources

Many people are aware of various AI tools, but most aren’t aware of the invisible workers involved in the production of AI.

So you’ve heard about ChatGPT and want to explore it but don’t know where to start? Here are some pointers on how to get going.

Discussions of artificial intelligence (AI) often jump straight to “ethics”. But there may be a better way.

This model brings together ideas from a number of other more general AI maturity models, including ones from Microsoft and Gartner.

Outlining the different types of chatbots, how they work, and how they are being used in educational settings.

Pinning down AI’s potential by identifying how this innovation can add value to the sector.

National centre for AI blog

Find out more about meetups, case studies and opportunities to get involved. Read our blog.

Explore our pilots

Upcoming pilots

We are piloting a number of promising AI products, so that we can share insights into which products add value and in what circumstances. Join our JiscMail list to be notified about upcoming pilots, advice on how to get involved and the centre’s other work.

Current pilots

Our pilots so far have included a range of exciting AI products including an AI assisted marking tool, a chatbot for student queries, and a virtual reality interview simulator.

AnyWyse

Status: ongoing

Anywyse empowers educators to produce engaging audio-based learning material (called ‘Wysers’) for their students. Through the use of AI, existing learning materials – workbooks, reading materials and more, can be transformed into exciting, podcast-style modules, thus expanding the ways in which students can learn. Through the pilot we want to help colleges enhance their skills in AI implementation while producing fun, engaging content for learners.

Read about the Anywyse Pilot on our blog.

Chatbot

Status: ongoing

Our chatbot, based on Bolton College’s Ada, is currently being piloted by four UK colleges. The chatbot is tailored for each institution to respond to a range of common student queries with the intention of improving student experience and reducing staff workload.  

Read more about our chatbot findings on our blog

Graide

Status: ongoing

Graide is an end to end assessment tool which utilises AI to assist with marking and feedback for STEM subjects. Graide suggests feedback to the marker based on previously graded answers, and continuously improves its suggestions based on the marker’s input. In this pilot, we are evaluating how Graide might reduce time spent marking whilst improving the quality of feedback.

Read about our Graide findings on our blog.

Student Voice

Status: ongoing

Student Voice provide a service using machine learning to automatically analyse student comments. This can be used to process large amounts of student feedback meaning more time is available to act on that feedback and improve student experience. In this pilot, we will evaluate participant’s experiences with the Student Voice service in comparison to their existing methods for analysing National Student Survey (NSS) data.

Read about the Student Voice Pilot on our blog.

Bodyswaps

Status: completed

Bodyswaps combines virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence to create immersive simulations which help learners to develop their soft skills. This pilot was undertaken as a roadshow, which visited five institutions where participating students experienced Bodyswaps’ job simulator modules.

Based on our pilot, we recommend Bodyswaps as an effective and engaging way to offer employability skills development and interview preparation to students in colleges and universities.

Read the full Bodyswaps pilot report (pdf).

Andy McGregor, director of edtech, Jisc:

"AI offers the chance to help every student reach their highest potential by offering highly personalised education. However, this will only work if AI is used to augment the important role teachers play in education, and if ethics are at the forefront of implementing AI tools."