Following the rollout of ChatGPT Edu across the University, it has been a key priority of the AI Competency Centre to ensure that students feel supported and ready to use AI effectively during their time here.
Freshers’ Fair 2025
Members of the Competency Centre team were on site at Freshers’ Fair on 8 – 9 October, speaking with students about the tools now available to them at Oxford and where they can find information and guidance to support this.
Our team were also able to take questions directly from students, including those about the environmental impact of AI and concerns about privacy, helping to assuage any worries students might have. It was encouraging to hear how they were already embracing the University-wide rollout and to be able to take feedback directly from them to enhance the Centre’s offering.
Upskilling students
Within the Competency Centre, a team of AI Consultants provide expertise across various areas of the University. Our consultant Kelly Webb-Davies has a particular interest in integrating AI into higher education in ways that enhance communication, reduce bias, and expand access to knowledge.
For over a year, Kelly has been advocating responsible ways of thinking about the application of AI in study. A notable example of this work is in the creation of ‘AI Personas’. This approach assigns various personas through which students can view generative AI tools like ChatGPT to suggest how they might be integrated into the learning process, including any caveats or limitations.
Kelly has presented her AI personas at a variety of venues, including at a webinar for AI in Education at Oxford University (AIEOU) in August 2025. The personas have primarily been put to the test in the Medical Sciences Division (MSD), this year starting with the MSD Postgraduate Induction where Kelly led an overview of GenAI along with a live, hands-on reflection task where students used ChatGPT Edu and evaluated their choices. This induction was a rerun of the previous year’s event which was shortlisted for a Vice-Chancellor’s Award.
Following that, a second session was held for MSc students entering their second year in the MSD Critical Thinking Workshop to help students understand what GenAI is, how to use it safely at Oxford, conceptualise productive use, and decide when to use it and when to avoid it.
Building on these sessions, the Competency Centre offers tailored training for student cohorts, which can be requested by colleges, departments, and divisions.
Upcoming engagements
Throughout the year, the Centre will continue to work closely with all University members to support AI adoption across education, research and administration. As part of this, we have set up student focus groups in collaboration with the Oxford Student Union to create an open dialogue with students, aiming to find out more about how students are engaging with AI in their studies and how we can better support them to guide responsible and effective use.
By maintaining regular communications with student bodies, such as the Oxford AI Society, the Student Union, and college representatives, the AI Competency Centre hopes to build confidence and understanding in the use of generative AI tools in education. On Monday 20 October, for example, we attended the meeting of MCR presidents to provide an overview of the Competency Centre and the sort of work we do and were positively received.
If you work with students directly, the AI Competency Centre can advise on how to approach AI use with them. We have also worked with the Centre for Teaching and Learning to create a ‘Getting Started with AI for Students’ guide to advise on how AI could be used responsibly in learning, while keeping in line with current guidance. We are actively monitoring and updating available resources as the year progresses in accordance with emerging use cases and guidelines, to ensure support remains accessible and up-to-date.
