Are universities ready for generative AI?

Generative artificial intelligence, or GenAI, uses existing data to create something new. It is a technology that is currently making great progress and is capable of profoundly reshaping large areas of society. This raises the question of how well institutions of higher education in Germany are prepared for the integration of GenAI. What intentions are there to integrate these tools at educational institutions? Prof. Dr Käthe Schneider and her team from the Institute of Education and Culture at Friedrich Schiller University Jena want to investigate these questions with their "AI4Uni" research project.

How well prepared are institutions of higher education in Germany for the integration of GenAI?

"The competition between institutions of higher education within and outside Germany for the best practices in the use of generative artificial intelligence requires the safe and responsible use of these and related technologies in educational institutions," says Prof. Dr Käthe Schneider. Together with research associate Dr Michael Agyemang Adarkwah, the holder of the chair for adult education will investigate how far the readiness to implement GenAI institutionally has progressed.

To this end, they will use the "Higher Education Generative AI Readiness Assessment" instrument developed by EDUCASE researchers. In addition, the study measures institutional intentions to use GenAI based on the theory of planned behaviour. The study is the first to use this theory to examine the intention of innovation promoters at German institutions of higher education to integrate GenAI tools, says Dr Adarkwah.

"In essence, the aim is to enable institutions of higher education in Germany to gain a comprehensive picture of their willingness to integrate GenAI into their universities in comparison to others." Innovation promoters at all institutions of higher education in Germany will therefore be surveyed, starting in June 2024. The overarching goal of the study is to extend the assessment of GenAI readiness and intentions to European universities.

The results of the study will yield multiple benefits. Firstly, university leaders will be made aware of the importance of institutional readiness for the use of GenAI in higher education. Second, leaders will gain data-driven insights on the key GenAI strategies to be aware of in order to take transformative action in support of GenAI development. Thirdly, the results of the study will reveal the level of GenAI readiness of German universites and enable university leaders to take the necessary actions to fully realize the potential of the innovative technology.

Käthe Schneider says that it can be assumed that only institutions that are well prepared for the integration of AI into higher education will be able to revolutionize university operations such as research, teaching, transfer and administration. Consequently, the concept of GenAI readiness will become an essential part of the discussion on the digital transformation of education in the digital age.