Good practices of using Artificial Intelligence in the digitalization of higher education

Abstract

The present research is dedicated to the good practices of using AI in the overall digitalization of higher education. The primary objective is to identify good practices used by the universities in implementing AI technologies in their everyday life for edu-cational and administrative needs. At the same time, our additional goal is to understand the expectations of students for further im-plementation of AI in universities. We developed our research in 2 main stages: the first one – the collection and identification of good practices of universities with AI and digitalization, and the second one – is devoted to students' expectations. We conducted 25 inter-views with representatives of 18 Bulgarian universities responsible for digitalization. The second stage was to provide a survey among students (n=254). Our findings reveal that digitalization is one of the leading priorities for universities; most universities have specific strategic documents for digitalization. Several challenges are outlined for smooth digitalization: lack of sufficient resources (including financial, administrative capacity, etc.); unwell-prepared infrastructure (including lack of shared vision for the different systems used so far within the university); the emergence of various types of resistance (both in academic and administrative staff) etc. The signifi-cant advantage for universities using AI is seen in the improved quality of the educational process (including the introduction of new educational perspectives through new technologies), improved administrative service, and enhanced public image, which reflects an increased number of potential candidates.