Our Commitment to the Russell Group Principles
The University contributed to and is committed to the principles about generative AI that the Russell Group set out in 2023/24. These principles are useful in guiding us to continue to advance human knowledge and creativity and to seek to benefit from generative AI in educating students.
The Russell Group Principles are:
- Universities will support students and staff to become AI-literate.
- Staff should be equipped to support students to use generative AI tools effectively and appropriately in their learning experience.
- Universities will adapt teaching and assessment to incorporate the ethical use of generative AI and support equal access.
- Universities will ensure academic rigour and integrity is upheld.
- Universities will work collaboratively to share best practice as the technology and its application in education evolves.
The implications of these principles are that the University needs to support staff and students to have a basic familiarity with generative AI and to be discerning about when it enhances learning, and in contrast, when it holds students back from being agents of their own learning. The principles require us to set a level playing field for students in their access to AI tools, and to uphold academic integrity by designing assessments that minimise the risk of its unauthorised use. Implicit in the principles is our responsibility to create a learning environment characterised by trust, dialogue, and transparency about using generative AI. We also need to be mindful of the environmental impacts of the technology in deciding when to permit or recommend it.