Last month, the Vice-Rectorate for Digital Transformation and the Information and Communication Systems Area (ASIC) organized a Focus Group with 15 students to collaboratively analyze the role that artificial intelligence (IA) can play at UPV in the university day-to-day and to detect uses, needs and concrete proposals regarding artificial intelligence at the university.
The session was structured around three participatory dynamics with the aim of detecting:
- Real and current use AI use by the student body
- Unmet Needs.
- Perception of these technologies in their academic environment.
This initiative is part of the commitment of the UPV to promote a participatory technological development, in which those who will use the tools are actively listened to. The aim is to include feedback from students from the initial design stages, ensuring that digital applications not only work properly, but also that they really respond to their needs and expectations.
Ideas adapted to student needs
During the Focus Group, students shared a wide variety of proposals in which AI could offer real added value to their academic experience. Among the most prominent suggestions were:
- Formatting documents on faculty slides and teaching material.
- Explaining complex or technical concepts applied to each subject.
- Creation of questions, multiple-choice or self-assessment, from notes.
- Guidance assessment of solutions in homework submissions.
- Support for the blank page syndrome with initial ideas.
- Personalized reminder system in MyUPV, such as exams or deliveries.
- Smart notifications and thematic subscriptions through MyUPV.
- AI to answer frequent requests in PoliConsulta or about the academic calendar.
- Automatic transcription and summary of VideoApuntes to facilitate the study.
- Centralized and accessible “where to find what” quick guide
- Real-time visualization of occupancy resources such as parking lots or spaces.
From active listening to action: new projects underway
The contributions gathered during the meeting did not remain on paper. This Focus Group has served as the starting point for the design of new functionalities in PoliformaT and VideoApunteswhich will incorporate AI tools oriented to the improvement of learning and teaching.
This experience shows that involving students in the digital transformation process not only enriches the development of new solutions, but also reinforces the culture of open educational innovation that characterizes the UPV.