Ubiquity Proceedings (Aug 2024)
N-TUTORR: Addressing Artificial Intelligence as one element of the transformation of Ireland’s technological higher education sector
Abstract
A major transformation programme is underway across seven technological higher education institutions in Ireland. Investment of €40m #NextGenerationEU funding enables a programme to empower learners, to enhance staff capabilities, to improve the digital infrastructure, and to ensure long-lasting sustainable impact. Designed and implemented by significant collaboration of partner institutions, the programme explicitly adopts a holistic approach with inter-related work streams and work packages. The programme is underpinned by the six core themes of academic integrity, digital transformation, education for sustainability, employability, equality diversity & inclusion, universal design for learning. This comprehensive structure enables focus on key issues, emerging topics, and ensuring sustainable enhancement of learning, teaching and assessment across the technological sector. Multiple elements of the programme provided opportunities to reflect on the role of artificial intelligence, ranging from the perspective of challenges associated with academic integrity to the wider potential to be exploited to support and enhance learning and teaching. Students play an active role in considering these issues through focussed projects in partnership with staff and by acting as student champions to ensure that students‟ perspectives inform related discussions. Staff development opportunities have focussed on artificial intelligence and specific training is in place for senior institutional leaders. Active cooperation with the National Academic Integrity Network, which is facilitated by the national external quality agency, has led to complementary focussed activities. A national practitioners‟ network is being established to examine the impact of generative AI on higher education. Many of these structures could be replicated in other institutions or groups of institutions. While there are many examples of programme activities addressing important or topical issues, this paper particularly focuses on themes relating to the 2024 EDEN conference.
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