ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É

By Jennie Shaw

Artificial intelligence is a main topic of conversation across our University community — at our Festival of Learning and Teaching, in our AI Community of Practice, and in our working groups that are building ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É University. As the home of leading international expertise, both through the Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML) and great AI education, we’re well placed to deal with the disruptive impacts of AI.Ìý

In our learning and teaching we are taking a future-facing approach to AI. Our staff and students need to know how to use AI appropriately, responsibly and ethically. The University Library has developed the Artificial Intelligence Literacy Framework and associated resources for students and staff to ensure responsible, competent, critical and reflective use of AI. Library staff are providing additional support to our research students to help build their competencies in using AI for a range of activities including statistical analysis and data visualisation.Ìý

Undergraduate students have access to an AI tool through our partnership with tertiary education AI specialists Studiosity as well as other freely available AI tools. Our role is to make sure students know when and how they can use AI tools, and to help our students build a range of transferable skills that can be used with a variety of AI tools in their studies and their future workplaces.Ìý

We also provide our students with hands-on experience in emerging technologies, including robotics, autonomous systems and AI through our many industry stakeholders. There is a vast array of work-integrated learning opportunities involving AI; for example, some of our students and staff are working on aspects of AI projects in defence, while other students are collaborating with a Canberra-based company that is developing AI tools to support strategic policy making.Ìý

Our staff are at the cutting edge of AI best practice. Around 230 staff participated in the recent AI Microsoft 265 Copilot trial project. Staff, who undertook instructor-led training from Microsoft and bespoke training from our own Information Technology and Digital Services training team, identified use cases where they thought Copilot could assist to improve efficiency, such as minute-taking for meetings. We have colleagues researching student attitudes towards AI, and we are collaborating with the University of Surrey to examine AI tools to support learning.Ìý

We are also thinking of our future students, and so we are developing one of our six common core programs for ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É University around the responsible use of AI. In our Career Services we are already finding that, at one end, the use of generative AI can assist students to organise and edit their résumé documents while, at the interview stage, employers are already seeking a base-level knowledge of acceptable use of AI from our graduates.Ìý

And, as we are at the forefront of AI education and research, we are using our expertise to help educate students and professionals across the world. A collaboration between our Professional and Continuing Education unit (PACE) and our School of Education has resulted in two courses available worldwide and free on the edX platform as ÑÇÖÞÉ«°ÉX Massive Open Online Courses (or MOOCs): ‘Ethical AI for Students’ and ‘AI for Professionals: Ethics, Responsibility and Best Practices.’ We would love our alumni to enrol! 

Professor Jennie Shaw is the University of ÑÇÖÞÉ«°É’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic).Ìý

ÑÇÖÞÉ«°ÉX AI courses can be found on the edX webpage and through the University’s PACE website.Ìý