The University of Warwick convened senior leaders from Microsoft and the Russell Group on Wednesday (9th April) to drive forward Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovation, collaboration, and its impact in higher education.
The AI Forum was led by Raja-Saleem Javaid, Warwick’s Chief Information and Transformation Officer, and was established to harness AI’s potential to personalise education, accelerate research, and foster innovation.
Attendees including Russell Group Deputy Vice-Chancellors and Senior Industry Advisors at Microsoft addressed building AI into the learning process, student expectations around AI integration in higher education, preparing students for a workplace that is AI-enabled, key ethical and practical AI questions, and how the Russell Group can work together in this new digital landscape.
The core theme of the AI Forum was collaboration. Working in partnership across the higher education sector through the Russell Group, partnering across the public and private sectors with Microsoft, and how AI itself can make studying and research more collaborative.
Reflecting on the AI Forum, Raja-Saleem Javaid, Warwick’s Chief Information and Transformation Officer said: “The University of Warwick is a trailblazer for innovation. For 60 years, we’ve been at the forefront of research, testing new boundaries with new technologies. Hosting this AI Forum, convening the Russell Group and Microsoft is our latest exciting step forward for innovation.
“AI is woven into everything that we do and in every facet of our lives in higher education. Whether it’s supporting teaching through curriculum design, real time data analysis for research, or supporting administrative tasks, AI is making us reimagine higher education.”
Discussions on key benefits of AI for the higher education sector included the importance of critical thinking in engaging with AI and how this could help students develop their critical thinking skills, increasing time for creativity and research, and reducing time spent on administrative tasks. Whilst key challenges that were considered focused on harnessing AI for every stage of learning and empowering people to become AI literate.
Embracing AI will help ensure that the British higher education sector continues to deliver world-class student experience, deliver cutting-edge breakthroughs, and deliver economic prosperity across the country.
Amanda Sleight, General Manager for the UK Public Sector at Microsoft said: “Education is fundamental to the success of every individual in this country, and Microsoft believes that AI is fundamental in supporting higher education. From engaging students more effectively, being inclusive, harnessing AI, we can help students perform better at university.
“Microsoft supports Warwick’s AI Forum because we fundamentally believe that by sharing good practice, we can help accelerate outcomes for students and universities.”
Joanna Burton, Head of Policy (Higher Education) at the Russell Group said: “Generative AI is already transforming the university experience in exciting ways. As advances continue to accelerate globally, Russell Group universities are working to ensure that we fully understand both its benefits and limitations, and that our communities are using AI tools with care, creativity and a critical eye. Our members are proactively sharing experiences and learnings from use cases around the world to develop sector-wide best practice.
“This week’s conference is a good example of how we can work with external experts and industry to make sure we stay at the forefront of emerging developments, make the most of opportunities to enrich the university experience, and tackle challenges together – including trust and safety, strong governance, ethical use and equality of access. This continued collaboration will be vital as we prepare students with the right skills for the future.”
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