Artificial intelligence (AI) may be the new-new-norm in a post-pandemic learning environment. There is a growing number of university students using AI like ChatGPT and Bard to support their academic experience. Much of the AI in higher education research to date has focused on academic integrity and matters of authorship; yet, there may be unintended consequences beyond these concerns for students. That is, there may be people who reduce their formal social interactions while using these tools. This study evaluates 387 university students and their relationship to – and with – artificial intelligence large-language model-based tools. Using structural equation modelling, the study finds evidence that while AI chatbots designed for information provision may be associated with student performance, when social support, psychological wellbeing, loneliness, and sense of belonging are considered it has a net negative effect on achievement. This study tests an AI-specific form of social support, and the cost it may pose to student success, wellbeing, and retention. Indeed, while AI chatbot usage may be associated with poorer social outcomes, human-substitution activity that may be occurring when a student chooses to seek support from an AI rather than a human (e.g. a librarian, professor, or student advisor) may pose interesting learning and teaching policy implications. We explore the implications of this from the lens of student success and belonging.

Dr Kelly-Ann Allen is a belonging researcher, Associate Professor and educational and developmental psychologist at Monash University whose work seeks to bridge between academic research and real-world application. She’s a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society and an Honorary Principal Fellow of the University of Melbourne. Her work centres on translating and disseminating belonging research findings. This commitment underpins the purpose of this website: to extend the reach of belonging research, making it accessible and impactful beyond academia.

Ms Bianca Pani is a recent graduate of Monash University’s Graduate Diploma of Professional Psychology, and a current Research Assistant.

The study conducted in the centre of Vietnam in 2023 aims to explore English-majored students’ perceptions towards the application of ChatGPT in developing students’ English language. The research was grounded on the Technology Acceptance Model developed by Davis (1998) and further revised by Shoufan (2023). The quantitative approach was selected for the study with the questionnaire as the instrument. 369 English-majored students who have experienced using ChatGPT in language learning were selected for the study. The findings reveal that although students found it easy to use ChatGPT as well as perceived it as a useful tool for their language learning, they had neutral opinions on its usefulness. Furthermore, students had a high level of attitudes towards the use of ChatGPT in language learning while the negative attitudes towards it were found to be at a low level. While genders were recognised not to have impacts on students’ perceptions, class levels had significant effects on those of students It is highly recommended that teaching strategies, careful monitoring, and a balance between the use of ChatGPT and human interaction should be under consideration for an effective adoption of ChatGPT in language learning and teaching.

In higher education, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) offers new opportunities for enhancing Human-Computer Interaction. This presentation examines the growing interest among researchers to develop students’ AI literacy. Our study aims to explore Hungarian HE students’ perspectives on the effective use of AI tools and map the essential components of AI literacy as a crucial skill for the 21st century.

Using a qualitative, exploratory approach, this research examines the experiences of higher education students with AI, specifically ChatGPT (N=69). The study aims to investigate students’ perceptions and attitudes towards ChatGPT in different academic contexts, including its effectiveness, difficulties encountered, reliability, and concerns; the impact of using ChatGPT on students’ learning attitudes, and perceived aspects of AI literacy. The results of this study can enhance our understanding of the skills needed for proficient use of AI technologies by students. The findings provide higher education instructors with knowledge on how to promote AI literacy among students. We propose an active and positive teaching approach for instructors to develop their students’ competence in AI literacy.

Dr Márta Folmeg is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of International Trade and Logistics of the Budapest Business University (BBU), where she teaches courses in organization and HR management and in the finance field. Her research interests include methodological aspects of higher education, innovative teaching methods for management courses, in addition competence and skills development. 

Dr Imre Fekete is a college Associate Professor of the Department of Pedagogy at Budapest Business University and holds a PhD in Education (Language Pedagogy). He teaches Learning theory, (Digital) media-, AI-, and technology-related courses such as Virtual learning environments. He is also involved in EFL teacher education at the University of Vienna and has been instructing Language development seminars as well as technology-, and Research methodology-related courses in EFL Teacher Education since 2018.

Dr Rita Koris is an Associate Professor at the Department of Leadership and HR Development at Budapest Business University (Hungary) where she teaches courses in business and management in the EMI program of the university. Her research interests lie primarily in innovative teaching practices of business education, internationalization of HE, transversal skills development and teachers’ academic development.

Establishing artificial intelligence (AI) and its integration into education system requires abundant resources and robust funding. In wealthy Arabic countries, such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and United Arab Emirates (UAE), governments have taken bold steps to foster technology and innovation in education, investing substantially in teaching and learning. Indeed, over the last decades, with the common goal of diversifying economy from dependence on oil and gas industry to sustainability and a knowledge-based economy, GCC countries have been actively working on highly ambitious long-term plans. Hence, as a game changer on the global stage, incorporating AI in education has been a central component of these investments. This systematic review investigates characteristics of AI research in the GCC region, identifying advantages and disadvantages of AI utilization in higher education, and exploring main issues accompanied with possible directions for the future. The studies were identified by searching the Scopus database, based on five criteria: artificial intelligence or related terminologies as a keyword, higher education or associated terminologies as a keyword, open access, documents in the final stage, and documents affiliated to a GCC country. Accordingly, the final dataset consisted of 32 studies, from which inductive coding methods extracted data. 

Dr Saba Mansour Qadhi is an experienced educator and scholar who has been working in the field of education for over 22 years. Currently, she serves as the Director of the Core Curriculum Program at Qatar University. She received her Ph.D. in Education from the University of Reading at United Kingdom in 2018, and her master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Qatar University in 2009. Dr. Mansour has held several leadership positions at Qatar University, including coordinator of the secondary and primary education programs, and Associate Director of the Core Curriculum Program. Her research interests include educational and continuing professional development for teachers and instructors in the educational field. She supervises  theses and has published book chapters and several articles in peer-reviewed journals. She has secured two research grants, including a National Priorities Research Programme research grant from Qatar National Research Fund and an internal research grant from Qatar University.

Dr Fatma Kayan Fadlelmula is a faculty member at the Core Curriculum Program, Qatar University (QU). She holds a doctoral degree in Elementary Education (2011), a master’s degree in Elementary Science and Mathematics Education (2007), a bachelor degree in Elementary Mathematics Education (2004), from Middle East Technical University (METU), Turkey. Previously, she worked as a faculty at Elementary Education Department, Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Turkey. In addition, she worked as a research assistant at Research Coordination Office at METU and as a multimedia content designer at a private e-learning company in Turkey. To date, she has conducted research on many different aspects of education. Her research interest includes STEM education, problem solving, self-regulation, mathematics education, and pre-service teacher education. 

In 2023, we conducted one of the first large-scale quantitative studies of student views on generative artificial intelligence at an Australian university (n = 1,135). When the survey was conducted, most students had low knowledge, experience, and confidence in using these tools. These results varied across disciplines and across some student sub-groups, such as mature-age students and international students. Confidence appeared to increase with experience, although the data also revealed a portion of students who have never used these tools yet still felt confident in using them. In 2024, we have repeated this survey and in this presentation we will discuss how students’ experience with AI tools has changed over the course of a year.

Dr Miriam Sullivan is the Manager, Academic Integrity at Edith Cowan University. Her research uses mixed methods to explore the impact of education, outreach and support on student success.

Dr Andrew Kelly is the Manager, Learning Support at Edith Cowan University and the current President of the Association of Academic Language and Learning. His research focuses on student support, academic integrity, and the evolving role of generative artificial intelligence in learning and teaching.

Higher education is currently under a significant transformation due to the emergence of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technologies, the hype surrounding GenAI and the increasing influence of educational technology business groups over tertiary education. This commentary, prepared for the Special Issue of the Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice (JUTLP) on “Enhancing student engagement using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and chatbots,” delves into the complex landscape of opportunities and threats that AI chatbots, including ChatGPT, introduce to the realm of higher education. We argue that while GenAI offers promise in enhancing pedagogy, research, administration, and student support, concerns around academic integrity, labour displacement, embedded biases, environmental sustainability, increased commercialisation, and regulatory gaps necessitate a critical approach. Our commentary advocates for the development of critical AI literacy among educators and students, emphasising the necessity to foster an environment of responsible innovation and informed use of AI. We posit that the successful integration of AI in higher education must be grounded in the principles of ethics, equity, and the prioritisation of educational aims and human values. By offering a critical and nuanced exploration of these issues, our commentary aims to contribute to the ongoing discourse on how higher education institutions can navigate the rise of GenAI, ensuring that technological advancements benefit all stakeholders while upholding core academic values.

Dr Jürgen Rudolph is Director of Research at Kaplan Singapore. He is also Editor-in-chief of the open-access Journal of Applied Learning & Teaching (that neither charges its authors nor its readers). Jürgen has four postgraduate degrees; PhD qualifications from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (Germany); an MBA from the University of Louisville (Kentucky, USA); and an M.Ed. from University of Adelaide (Australia). Jürgen has 30 years of Higher Education teaching experience and has taught a wide variety of subjects, ranging from Knowledge Management to Innovation & Entrepreneurship. He has published numerous journal articles, and he is the author/co-editor of three books (on the social history of the Peranakan Chinese in Singapore; and the Asian crisis in the late 1990’s).

Dr Mohamed Fadhil is a multi-faceted professional with many years of experience in research, higher education and the professional training industry. He has a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Adelaide and has undertaken research work with the Institute for Adult Learning Singapore and Kaplan Higher Education Singapore. His research interests are: adult education, organisational sensemaking, neuroscience and mental health, appreciative and wellbeing studies, human flourishing and restorative justice in education. He is a passionate educator and teaches qualitative research methods, positive psychology, principles of management and organizational behaviour at Kaplan Higher Education Singapore. At the same time, Mohamed Fadhil is involved in the professional training industry as an adult educator conducting programs in emotional intelligence, digital literacy and workplace communication. In the last 15 years, Mohamed Fadhil has successfully worked with both adults and youths of various nationalities and backgrounds in his teaching and research career.

Ms Shannon Tan is a Research Executive at Kaplan Higher Education Singapore. She is also the Journal Manager of the Journal of Applied Learning & Teaching. She holds a Bachelor degree (double major in Psychology and Management) from Murdoch University.