As EDUCAUSE’s 2025 Top 10 IT Issues highlights, a leading priority is to build data-empowered institutions that use data, analytics, and AI to enhance decision-making, simplify workflows, and empower teams to improve student success.

Yet many institutions are still limited by siloed and inconsistent data spread across dozens of systems. Becoming data empowered takes more than new tools. It requires democratized data and insights, a clear strategy, and a culture that supports data-driven decision making.

A single, AI-powered platform can provide the secure foundation for unified data. It allows institutions to use AI in ways that are practical and measurable. It has the potential to connect disconnected systems and empower leaders, faculty, and staff with insights that create impact across many parts of the institution.

Building the foundation of a data-empowered institution

Becoming a data-empowered institution is not a one-time project but a continuous strategy that can transform how colleges and universities operate. Institutions that lead with data can:

• Drive institutional strategy with intelligent insights.
• Seamlessly govern and protect data across campus.
• Accelerate research workflows with generative AI.

While unified data and AI-powered insights are key enablers, institutions must also prioritize data security and governance to provide leaders with trusted insights for decision-making. With these fundamentals in place, data can become a trusted institutional asset that helps strengthen collaboration across teams and break down departmental silos. When data is managed as an institutional asset, leaders can make informed decisions and allocate resources where they’ll have the greatest impact.

Microsoft Fabric helps unify data and teams to apply AI at scale, enhance decision-making, and build trust in insights by breaking down silos, improving performance visibility, accelerating innovation, and promoting data security. With these capabilities, leaders can better align resources, support student success, and stay resilient in a rapidly changing environment.

Driving institutional strategy with intelligent insights

Higher education leaders face mounting pressure to make faster, smarter decisions amid enrollment shifts, funding uncertainty, and workforce changes. These challenges ripple across budgets, staffing, and student services, while siloed systems often fragment financial, enrollment, and student success data, leaving leaders with outdated or incomplete insights.

Microsoft Fabric offers a unified foundation to turn institutional data into a source of agility and confidence. By connecting systems and applying predictive analytics, leaders can model scenarios, uncover insights, and act on opportunities such as:

• Tracking shifts in applications and yield rates to redirect outreach and boost enrollment.
• Identifying early signs of attrition and activating support to keep students on track.
• Modelling how changes in enrollment, aid, or scholarships affect financial outcomes.

By transforming data into actionable intelligence, institutions move from reacting to challenges to anticipating them. With AI-powered insights, leaders can automate outreach, streamline reporting, and coordinate action across departments to support student success and institutional resilience.

Like many other schools, Xavier College was grappling with a complex network of platforms and IT products, with its data scattered across 130 disparate systems. The College migrated all current and historic student and staff data to Microsoft Azure in under seven months, consolidating multiple systems and eliminating the need to manage data separately.

Key considerations for leaders: Are your financial and operational models rooted in historical data, or do they anticipate and shape strategy?

Governing and protecting data seamlessly

Colleges and universities manage sensitive information across student records, financial data, medical research, and intellectual property. Rising cyberthreats and evolving compliance requirements can put this sensitive data at risk while fragmented security tools overextend IT and security teams.

By protecting sensitive information and addressing risks quickly, institutions can safeguard research, teaching, and operations while maintaining trust and compliance. Strong data governance helps promote responsible information use, supporting innovation and collaboration without compromising security.

These measures help institutions protect valuable data and maintain trust with researchers and partners:

• Automate checks and reporting to improve audit readiness and reduce manual effort.
• Demonstrate robust data protection to secure grants and renewals.
• Monitor and respond to threats in real time, minimizing disruptions.

As part of Oregon State University’s (OSU) commitment to innovative security protocols, they continue to both deepen and expand their cybersecurity posture. They’re using Microsoft Security Copilot alongside Microsoft security tools with the goal of elevating their proactive security measures, allowing analysts to focus on tasks that add greater value to the institution.

Key considerations for leaders: Does your institution have unified visibility across all data systems, or are gaps still creating risk and stretching your teams thin?

Accelerating research breakthroughs

Research breakthroughs frequently require accurate, connected data that’s ready to power new insights. Critical information is often scattered across disconnected systems, which can make it difficult for faculty and researchers to collaborate efficiently or uncover patterns that drive innovation. In many cases, valuable time is spent cleaning and cross-checking data instead of focusing on discovery.

When institutions build a strong data foundation, they can discover new possibilities. Unified, well-governed data allows researchers to ask better questions, explore trends faster, and collaborate across disciplines while giving leaders a chance to gain predictive insights to drive breakthroughs.

When data is connected and trusted, AI can take research further by automating routine analysis, revealing new patterns, and suggesting fresh directions to explore. With the right foundation in place, faculty and students have an opportunity to spend less time managing information and more time advancing knowledge, securing funding, and driving the institution’s long-term growth.

Using Azure OpenAI, researchers at Georgia Tech were able to analyze unstructured data to better understand the charging experience of electric vehicle (EV) drivers. The volume of information was substantial, but it was estimated that human experts would require 99 weeks to extract the salient data points, which wasn’t realistic. Azure OpenAI was pivotal in advancing the research.

Key considerations for leaders: Are your research teams able to quickly connect datasets across disciplines, or are insights still fragmented and slowing discovery?

Unifying teams and data to support student success

Data empowerment helps institutions maximize innovation and value across operations, instruction, and systems:

• Simplify faculty and staff workflows – Unified data and automation can help streamline administrative work and empower educators. AI-powered tools are being used to improve efficiency and free up time for more strategic tasks. At the University of Waterloo, an AI assistant is helping students navigate job searches more efficiently and access support, contributing to a more streamlined experience that aligns with the university’s focus on student success.
• Engage learners and alumni – With a strong focus on student success and social mobility, California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) is transforming higher education to meet the diverse needs of its students. By connecting siloed data and applying AI-powered tools, the university is streamlining processes and personalizing engagement across the student journey.

Becoming a data-empowered institution is a journey, not a destination. These five scenarios show how institutions can transform operations when data is unified, and AI is applied with purpose. The path to proactive leadership starts with unified data. Microsoft can help you move with confidence.

Download the Data-Empowered Institution e-book to see how leading institutions are putting these scenarios into action, and how your campus can take the next step.

Ready to learn more? Discover additional resources and tools to accelerate your data empowerment journey:

• Read the Forrester Total Economic Impact™ study to see how leading organizations achieved 379% ROI with Microsoft Fabric, and how your institution can apply these insights to maximize the value of its data.
• Explore how Microsoft Fabric can help your institution securely unify data, enhance collaboration, and prepare your organization for the AI era.

The post Building data-empowered higher education institutions appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

With these advances in AI, institutions now have a powerful new opportunity: to use agents that can automate routine tasks, assist faculty and staff, and provide real-time, contextual insights to support teaching and learning. As more institutions begin their journey to this next frontier, AI agents will support individuals and teams by automating tasks and delivering instant, contextual insights.

This means that with data-focused AI tools from Microsoft, your institution can:

• Develop scalable, intelligent agents using Azure AI Foundry, trusted by enterprises and customized for higher education compliance and innovation.
• Turn data insights into action with AI-powered analytics, addressing challenges in student success, research productivity, and operational agility.

Accelerate agentic AI with Azure AI Foundry

Azure AI Foundry Agent Service empowers institutions to securely design, deploy, and scale agents with ease. Enhance your team’s efficiency with agents that simplify academic and operational workflows with robust security and trust features built in. This provides key tools and resources to help you:

• Create domain-specific agents to automate complex tasks.
• Use enterprise-grade identity for agents and built-in trustworthy AI.
• Deploy and scale agents quickly with managed infrastructure.

Create and scale domain-specific agents

With Azure AI Foundry Agent Service, your team can create domain-specific agents tailored to your unique needs. It helps you design, deploy, and scale agents that are ready for real-world use. This fully managed service handles infrastructure and orchestration. It includes ready-to-use templates, actions, and connectors for more than 1,400 enterprise data sources, including SharePoint, Microsoft Fabric, and third-party systems. For instance, you can design and deploy agents to help onboard new students with personalized guidance and support administrative teams with instant responses to common questions.

Institutions like Stanford Medicine are already using the healthcare agent orchestrator in Azure AI Foundry alongside Microsoft Copilot Studio. This integration enhances the efficiency of tumor board meetings through customized clinical workflows.

Secure and manage your agents

Creating agents is just the beginning—managing them responsibly plays a critical role in their effective use. With Microsoft Entra Agent ID, you can:

• Gain complete visibility and control over agents’ actions.
• Assign unique identities for each agent.
• Share identity management with your team members.
• Define access controls and permissions for each agent.

Trustworthy AI is a foundational commitment for Microsoft and for our customers. We’ve introduced new capabilities to help institutions discover, protect, and govern AI systems from the start.

On the security side, Azure AI Foundry integrates with Microsoft Defender for Cloud to provide real-time alerts and insights when threats arise. For compliance, out-of-the box integration with governance tools like Credo AI, Saidot, and Microsoft Purview, helps institutions monitor model performance, assess fairness, and track regulatory requirements.

By using Azure AI Foundry’s built-in tools for safety, security, and governance, institutions can design and deploy AI systems with greater reliability from the start.

Powering the next AI frontier with Microsoft Fabric

Strong data is foundational to effective AI. Microsoft Fabric helps unify your data to power analytics and agents—without the burden of managing complex infrastructure. As a SaaS solution, Fabric offers seamless integration of data tools and can reduce the need for manual service connections.

At its core is Microsoft OneLake, an open and unified data lake that supports any format, from any cloud. This flexibility allows developers to access and analyze all types of data efficiently.

Fabric also transforms how you manage and interact with data. With natural language capabilities, you can explore insights that drive student success, enhance research, and boost operational agility—empowering everyone to make informed, data-driven decisions.

Find the right data when you need it

Education leaders need tools that turn insights into action. That’s why we’re focused on making data more accessible through conversational experiences. With Copilot in Power BI, users can now ask questions in natural language and receive instant insights—no technical training needed to get started. Whether it’s enrollment trends, retention risks, or alumni giving, faculty and staff can explore data directly within Microsoft Teams to streamline their workflow.

Empower everyone to interact with their data

With enhanced interaction capabilities in Power BI and Copilot Studio, transforming data into actionable insights can now be faster and more intuitive. You can explore data through natural, conversational experiences, removing complexity, and making analysis more accessible. This shift empowers you and your teams to break down data silos and uncover valuable insights with ease. Power BI chat simplifies the exploration of complex datasets, offering quicker, more confident decision-making.

Uncover deeper insights with data agents

Finally, connecting Fabric data agents to Copilot Studio can help uncover deeper insights. These agents expertly analyze complex datasets, uncovering valuable insights from OneLake and driving informed action. By automating tasks like email sending and workflow triggering, they streamline your interactions with enterprise data, enabling confident decision-making.

Embrace the future of data-driven higher education with Microsoft Azure and Azure AI Foundry. Discover how innovative data agents and AI-powered insights can enhance your approach to learning and operations. Start your journey today and uncover the limitless possibilities that await you.

The post Discover the potential of agentic AI in higher education appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

A blueprint for AI-ready campuses

IDC identified six common foundational characteristics of advanced AI strategies in Higher Education:

Differentiators – Rather than only focusing on AI-powered automation for efficiency and cost savings, institutions are identifying unique areas where AI can help differentiate and innovate. According to Michael Barker, Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and CIO at UNC, “Our goal is to use AI to enhance our research capabilities and make groundbreaking discoveries that highlight our strengths and differentiate us.”

Guardrails – Institutions are initially focusing on creating guidelines for responsible use and moving toward governance in parallel. Jill Albin-Hill, Deputy CIO of Auburn University, notes, “Our guidelines allow for flexibility and innovation while ensuring that ethical standards are upheld.”

Collaborative Communities – Fostering collaboration, a culture of experimentation, and knowledge sharing helps drive AI initiatives forward. Ruben Mancha, Associate Professor of Information Systems at Babson College, states, “At Babson College, our AI Generator group is a key driver of innovation, providing a platform for our community to collaborate, share best practices, and explore new AI applications.”

Vendor Partnerships – Partnering with a diverse set of technology vendors with advanced AI capabilities and offerings helps institutions access cutting-edge AI tools and expertise. For example, the white paper cites, “Georgia Tech’s AI strategy is deeply intertwined with its partnerships, particularly with major industry players such as Microsoft, OpenAI, and NVIDIA.”

Change Management and Training – Providing comprehensive, ongoing training programs to ensure that all stakeholders, at all levels of the institution, are comfortable and proficient with AI tools is essential. Dr. Asim Ali, Executive Director at Auburn University, remarks, “Our goal is to provide the best environment on campus for students, professional staff, and faculty to learn about different resources, tools, and ideas and to think critically about their impact on society.”

Leadership – Effective AI leadership requires both top-down and bottom-up, grassroots innovation. Christopher Clemens, Provost and Chief Academic Officer at UNC, says, “We want to set the example of what we want AI to do for our institution and give them the tools, skills, and encouragement they need to bring that vision to life.”

Recommendations for advancing AI strategy

The white paper also outlines critical strategic, organizational, process, and technological recommendations to shape and advance AI strategy in higher education. A few highlights include:

• Align AI investments with the institution’s broader strategic vision – Patty Patria, CIO of Babson College, noted, “We have intense interest and demand coming from all areas of the institution. So, we take care to work very closely with everyone to gather feedback, understand what their needs are, and build tools and solutions for them. AI is a strategic capability in our broader toolset to achieve our larger goals.”
• Invest in AI for all – democratize access to diverse AI tools by ensuring all have access to AI resources and innovation.
• Create a flexible and adaptive strategy – adopt an iterative approach, allowing for quick pivots and adjustments based on what works and what doesn’t.
• Measure impact and success – establish clear metrics to ensure alignment to institutional goals and delivery of desired outcomes.
• Foster inclusive decision-making and stakeholder engagement – encourage collaboration across departments, including those who may be skeptical of AI, and ensure that diverse perspectives are considered.
• Allow time and space for AI adoption – Pascal Van Hentenryck at Georgia Tech shared, “We need to balance the urgency of adopting AI with the need to provide a supportive environment where everyone can learn and experiment at their own pace.”
• Ensure AI-ready data – establishing a robust data management strategy is essential for effective AI implementation. As Leo Howell said, “Building strong data engineering teams is crucial for ensuring that our AI models are trained on high-quality, reliable data.”
• Prioritize privacy and security – implement data protection measures, ensure compliance, design AI systems that safeguard sensitive data from the outset.

Explore more insights from leading institutions

Enhancing learning, research, and operations with Microsoft 365 Copilot

The Kelley School of Business at Indiana University is exploring AI to advance business education, career services, and academic research. In an initial study, professors found that students using Microsoft 365 Copilot saw performance improve by 10% and time to complete the task at hand was reduced by 40%.² Students felt that Copilot helped build confidence and prepare for their future careers. Career coaches agreed and have used Copilot Chat to provide more tailored guidance and spend more time engaging students on a one-to-one basis.

At Miami Dade College, leaders implemented AI-powered assistants through Microsoft Copilot Studio, which led to a 15% increase in pass rates and a 12% decrease in dropout rates. They’re also exploring opportunities at every level of the institution and finding benefits for staff in removing administrative burdens, improving work quality, and increasing productivity. Read the Miami Dade College story.

Leaders at the University of South Carolina knew that AI was going to be life changing, but knew they needed to better understand the opportunities first and began working with their first cohort. They received an eight out of ten satisfaction score on surveys, expedited literature reviews, provided more support for students, and prioritized data protection. Watch the University of South Carolina video.

Since our initial story on the University of South Florida, they’ve continued to improve services and efficiencies with AI. Watch their latest video on how they’re using AI tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio to spend more time on solving important challenges, reducing the number of help desk tickets, ensuring immediate support, and making their information AI-ready.

Unlocking new opportunities for AI innovation

Institutions like Oregon State University, Auburn University, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville are employing Microsoft Security Copilot and their students in their security operations centers (SOCs) to combat cybercrime. This approach offers students valuable hands-on experience while helping universities address cybersecurity workforce shortages and the need to build deeper expertise. These initiatives are part of their ongoing journeys as AI-ready campuses.

At Singapore Management University (SMU), Microsoft Security Copilot has led to a significant increase in efficiency, decrease in response times, and greater automation in containment efforts. It eases the workload for SMU’s security teams through AI-powered log correlation, automated playbooks, and real-time threat detection. Edward Panangian Pasaribu, Head of Cybersecurity at SMU, also noted that the “interface is intuitive, which makes everything easier for our security analysts when interacting with the system.” Learn more about their approach to Zero Trust and safeguarding research.

Microsoft Research is pioneering the integration of AI into research processes, driving innovation and efficiency. By using, infusing, and diffusing AI, they are transforming traditional workflows, accelerating scientific discovery, and enhancing AI-human interactions. Their initiatives, such as the Accelerating Foundation Models Research program, aim to democratize AI research, ultimately benefiting both academic researchers and society.

Northern Arizona University is using Willow’s digital twin technology to increase facility efficiencies, manage consumption of resources, and move their sustainability goals forward. They’re now able to bring data together from thousands of sensors to see what’s going on at any given moment and optimize traffic, facilities, and energy with measurable traction.

Building advanced solutions with Azure AI Foundry

Macquarie University developed Virtual Peer, an AI-powered chatbot, to provide students with real-time, around-the-clock academic and administrative support. They conducted a pilot study with 1,400 students and found that 80% of messages were sent outside of standard university operating hours, with a dramatic spike in usage before the final exam. Results also showed students’ exam scores went up by nearly 10% and 72% of survey respondents stated they would be very disappointed if they lost access to Virtual Peer.

The University of Waterloo introduced JADA, short for Job Aggregator Digital Assistant, to streamline the job search process for co-op students. JADA helps consolidate job boards and provides real-time support to enhance student access to job opportunities and ease the application process. It also uses AI to determine strong matches with their skills and knowledge, and tools like JADA are paired with training programs to help students build the skills they’ll need in the future of work.

Leading universities—including UCLA Anderson School of Management, London Business School, California State University Fullerton, the University of Maryland, and Case Western Reserve University—have already adopted Cloudforce’s nebulaONE® platform, deployed securely on Microsoft Azure, to anchor their campus-wide AI strategies. By wrapping Azure OpenAI Service in a private, institution-controlled environment, nebulaONE lets each school spin up custom-branded chatbots, research assistants, and administrative agents while satisfying stringent Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements.

Cloudforce backs the technology with workshop-driven design services, guiding institutions to launch “AI for everyone” environments or zoom in on high-value pilots. Their flexible architecture also lets stakeholders toggle among leading foundation models—from OpenAI’s GPT-4o to Meta’s Llama 3—so faculty, staff, and students can select the ideal engine for nearly every academic or operational use case.

Get started with Microsoft Education

• AI in Education – Learn more about AI in Education including relevant products, stories, resources, FAQs, and more.
• Microsoft Education AI Toolkit – Designed to guide school leaders through the process of planning for and integrating AI across the institution.
• Cloud AI Adoption e-book – Structured guidance that prepares organizations to adopt AI at scale, beginning with key operational processes for creation of a holistic AI strategy. 
• More Education stories – Read additional examples of how institutions are achieving more with Microsoft Education.

¹ IDC White Paper, sponsored by Microsoft, A Blueprint for AI-Ready Campuses: Strategies from the Frontlines of Higher Education, #US53344625, May 2025

² Dennis, A., Kim, A., & Yan, G. (2024, November 20). Copilot in Education: Impact on the Student Learning Experience. Kelley School of Business, Indiana University.

The post AI strategies from the frontlines of higher education appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

To maximize AI’s potential, it’s important to first develop cohesive strategies that align AI adoption with the core mission of your institution, ensuring long-term impact and responsible evolution. Microsoft is committed to helping you define your institutional strategy and innovate with confidence. The Cloud AI Adoption for Higher Education e-book contains structured guidance that prepares organizations to adopt AI at scale, beginning with key operational processes for creation of a wholistic AI strategy. This includes establishing institutional AI leadership, aligning your plan to institutional goals, prioritizing the most valuable AI use cases, and finally identifying the right AI technology strategy for the institution.

Let’s take a closer look at how institutions can develop an AI strategy that aligns with their specific needs and capabilities, reviewing key considerations to help strike the right balance between speed, simplicity, and customization in achieving their desired outcomes.

Key considerations for AI strategy in higher education

When defining an AI technology strategy, you’ll likely need to weigh trade-offs between ease of implementation and the flexibility to build fully customized solutions. Low-code tools provide speed and accessibility, ideal for fast deployment and integration with existing systems but offer limited customization.

Pro-code solutions, on the other hand, enable deep innovation through advanced orchestration, data governance, and full code access but take more time and technical expertise to configure. Comprehensive AI solutions from Microsoft span this spectrum, offering tools that support both rapid deployment as well as deeply customizable development paths.

Deploy AI quickly with out-of-the-box tools

You can empower faculty and staff with AI tools that require minimal technical expertise or setup. Out-of-the-box solutions like Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat can make it easy to boost individual productivity with AI-powered support for writing, analyzing, and collaborating across apps in Microsoft 365. These tools can also streamline workflows in areas like security and operations, embedding intelligence directly into the applications faculty and staff already use. For more tailored experiences, you can extend and customize capabilities using the graphical development environment in Microsoft Copilot Studio—building role-specific agents that address unique campus needs with ease.

Check out how the University of South Florida (USF) drives innovation and acceleration with Copilot.

Customize AI solutions to fit your institution’s goals

You can tailor AI adoption to your specific goals using Microsoft Platform as a service (PaaS) solutions, choosing between fully managed services for ease of deployment or infrastructure-level control for advanced research. With tools like Copilot Studio and Azure AI Foundry, you can build and deploy custom AI agents or applications—without the burden of managing infrastructure.

For example, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) can power AI agents that support tutoring and research by synthesizing timely information into clear, accurate explanations. You can also fine-tune generative AI models to personalize learning and streamline workflows, while maintaining privacy, security, and responsible use through Microsoft Azure AI Content Safety. These flexible options empower universities to innovate at scale and align AI capabilities with academic, operational, and research priorities.

Discover how Babson College meets the demands of its evolving strategic goals through Azure AI.

Accelerate research and scale AI workloads with full control

Microsoft infrastructure as a service (IaaS) AI solutions empower you to take on compute-intensive workloads using scalable, cost-effective cloud resources—enabling reproducible research while helping to manage AI computing costs. Tools like Microsoft Azure CycleCloud, Batch, and Kubernetes support model training and orchestrate complex workloads for advanced simulations, including climate modeling and biomedical research.

These platforms also improve collaboration and data sharing across institutions, enabling analytics and AI-powered insights in fields such as genomics, materials science, and social research. Built on trusted and secure cloud infrastructure, these solutions support compliance with regulatory standards—allowing researchers to innovate efficiently and responsibly.

Learn how the University of Nottingham optimizes AI computing costs while ensuring research reproducibility through accessing AI infrastructure.

Combine solutions to match your goals and resources

It’s important to acknowledge that the right AI technology strategy isn’t necessarily one path, but potentially the right combination of paths. In many cases, the most effective strategy combines multiple approaches—software as a service (SaaS), PaaS, or IaaS solutions. A hybrid strategy allows you to balance speed and scalability with customization and control—selecting ready-to-use tools for common tasks while developing tailored solutions for high-impact use cases. Trade-offs may need to be made between out-of-the-box value and deep customization, depending on the paths you select. Microsoft AI solutions give you the freedom to mix and match capabilities in ways that best support the mission, resources, and technical readiness of your institution.

Begin your AI journey today in higher education

As AI becomes an integral part of the educational landscape, the question for leaders in higher education is no longer if to adopt AI—but how to do so in a way that aligns with your institution’s values and long-term goals. By taking a thoughtful and responsible approach, you can harness AI not only to enhance learning and operations but also to create a lasting competitive advantage. Now is the time to chart a strategic course forward. Get started with the Cloud AI Adoption for Higher Education e-book to develop an AI strategy and implementation plan.

Explore these additional resources to learn more:

• Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure
• Establish an AI Center of Excellence
• Comprehensive guidance for AI adoption and architecture

The post Best practices for optimizing AI strategy in higher education appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

Microsoft and our network of partners can support your journey forward with AI. Unlike many publicly available AI tools, a solution built by a Microsoft partner with Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service keeps your AI interactions private, allowing you to stay in control of your institution’s information. It’s also easier to maintain compliance with data privacy laws like Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Microsoft’s commitment to Trustworthy AI means that AI is secure, safe, and private. Students, faculty, and researchers can also select from a wide array of leading models, with popular options from creators such as OpenAI, Meta, DeepSeek, and more, to find the best fit for their use cases.

In a datasheet on accelerating AI innovation, we highlight how our partner Cloudforce has developed the nebulaONE® solution, powered by Azure OpenAI Service, to simplify access to Microsoft’s most advanced generative AI capabilities. Let’s explore how it empowers institutions to achieve more.

How nebulaONE by Cloudforce aims to bring secure AI to all

Many students and faculty are already using generative AI. But as they adopt their own unsecured AI tools, it creates concerns with IT governance, security, privacy, and data protection, and it limits the ability to scale AI throughout the institution. Cloudforce, a Microsoft Supplier of the Year in 2024, has expertise in building AI solutions to address those concerns, as well as over a decade of experience designing and deploying complex infrastructure and cloud-native apps exclusively on Azure. Cloudforce built nebulaONE on Azure to use its built-in security and privacy features, and the company is engaged with dozens of higher education institutions to fulfill its mission of providing secure AI access for all.

A conversational generative AI gateway, nebulaONE allows students, faculty, researchers, and staff to harness cutting-edge AI models to reimagine learning experiences, accelerate research, protect intellectual property, and drive institutional efficiencies in every department. It includes an intuitive, multimodal chat interface for the AI interactions that are familiar to many, and it provides the ability to develop low-code, task-specific AI agents to drive innovation and efficiency across campus. The nebulaONE platform deploys to your Azure environment, so your data remains private, and you gain the compliance and security protections built into Azure AI services.

“We know leaders in higher education are facing pressure to prepare the workforce of tomorrow to succeed with AI, or risk being left behind,” says Cloudforce CEO Husein Sharaf. “We created nebulaONE to address the most pressing needs of educators and students, with a rapid implementation process that securely enables generative AI use at scale. Our campus-wide management layer keeps institutions in the driver’s seat from a cost and governance perspective, while a simple, custom-branded user interface drives user adoption. Our platform provides the foundation for a flexible AI strategy that evolves as new models and capabilities emerge.”

Cloudforce supports institutional leaders wherever you are in your journey, whether that’s exploring AI for the first time or connecting an AI platform to their full data estate. The Cloudforce team can host workshops to help identify early use cases or provide trainings and prompt-a-thons to reinforce best practices and teach you and your colleagues how to develop your own agents. They also offer assistance with change management and strategic communications to drive campus-wide adoption of nebulaONE and the uses that provide the most value for your institution.

The real-world impact of generative AI in higher education

One success story comes from the University of California, Los Angeles, John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management (UCLA Anderson). Leaders at UCLA Anderson had concerns with using public AI platforms, so they looked for a partner who could deliver a secure, private experience that enabled their priority use cases. They chose to adopt nebulaONE because it’s a fully managed platform that deploys in their Azure environment, and within about two months, they launched a generative AI chatbot to support MBA students with their capstone project.

UCLA Anderson leaders sought to develop and deploy a host of AI-powered chatbots for a variety of specific purposes, and Cloudforce validated use cases and provided hands-on training to empower UCLA staff to independently build them with nebulaONE. The school has now deployed bots to help students register for classes and provide feedback on essays, as well as a forthcoming AI-powered agent that will reduce administrative tasks for career coaches so they can spend more time with the school’s 40,000 alumni. Several months after UCLA deployed the platform, monthly active user rates continued to increase rapidly, growing by 485% from December 2024 to January 2025.

UCLA is hardly alone. A growing number of colleges and universities are deploying nebulaONE to harness the power of AI:

• California State University, Fullerton (Cal State Fullerton) now provides secure, university-managed AI for all students through TitanGPT, as the custom-branded platform is known. They have also started exploring use cases for support solutions, like an agent to streamline HelpDesk support and their IT ticketing system.
• London Business School sought to find a cost-effective, scalable AI solution, with access to a variety of AI foundation models. After a brief demo, they quickly began a full deployment to all 6,000 students, faculty, and researchers—the first in the United Kingdom to do so.
• TerpAI, the chatbot built on the nebulaONE platform at the University of Maryland, acts as a digital assistant and educational resource to help faculty and students brainstorm ideas, analyze data, create study guides, develop lesson plans, and more.
• The platform is nicknamed CWRU AI at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), where the CRWU community can select between AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4o or 3.5 Turbo, Meta’s Llama 3.2, and DeepSeek R1. CWRU AI uses AI reasoning to analyze images, PDFs, Word, and Excel files, and the community can deploy chatbots connected to specific data sources for departments or groups.

Learn more about what’s possible with AI

These examples highlight how leaders in higher education can quickly and securely implement generative AI to enhance student services, academic offerings, and operational efficiency. Ready to deploy AI at your school? Discover how nebulaONE can make AI accessible by downloading the datasheet from Microsoft and Cloudforce.

Learn more about how to get started with these resources:

• Explore the features and benefits of nebulaONE.
• Find out how institutions are reimagining student experiences with Azure OpenAI Service.
• Explore the benefits of powering your institution with Azure.
• Discover the AI learning hub, which includes documentation for adopting AI and trainings to improve AI skills for a variety of roles.

¹ Jenay Robert. 2024 EDUCAUSE AI Landscape Study​. Research report. Boulder, CO, US: EDUCAUSE, February 2024.

The post How Microsoft and Cloudforce help institutions innovate with Azure AI appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

The 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report from Microsoft and LinkedIn also found that 66% of leaders say they wouldn’t hire someone without AI skills. As we celebrate National AI Literacy Day in the US on March 28 this year, it’s clear that no one company will likely be able to meet the opportunities of tomorrow. We believe it’ll take innovative partnerships to meaningfully impact the lives of people around the world with AI literacy and skills development.

Empowering learners with essential AI skills

Microsoft and Pearson, the world’s lifelong learning company, announced a strategic collaboration to help address one of the top challenges facing organizations globally: skilling for the era of AI. The partnership will focus on providing employers, workers, and learners with AI-powered products and services to help prepare the current and future workforce across industries for the evolving landscape of work in an AI-powered economy. By combining Pearson’s expertise in learning and assessment with Microsoft’s cloud and AI technologies, this partnership will play a foundational role in helping organizations realize the full value of AI through reskilling.

Microsoft and Pearson are addressing the challenges and opportunities around reskilling at the ASU-GSV Summit in San Diego, US, April 6-9, 2025. The summit is dedicated to the scaled innovations in the delivery of education and workforce skills that are critical to creating a world in which all people have equal access to the future.

At ASU-GSV, Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Worldwide Learning, Jeana Jorgensen, will join Pearson President of Workforce Skills, Vishaal Gupta, for a discussion on transforming skills development and talent planning for the AI era. They’ll talk about how rapid intervention is needed or we risk the AI skills gap becoming a skills chasm, threatening the ability of individuals and organizations to thrive in an AI-powered future.

I’ll be also joining Vishaal and Jeana for a discussion at ASU-GSV on skilling for the AI era. We’ll dive deeper into how the Microsoft and Pearson collaboration will transform and scale AI skilling and help organizations equip learners and workers with the critical skills they need to succeed in a technology-driven world.

Rethinking reskilling

Given the urgent need to rethink learning and reskill workers, Microsoft and Pearson will collaborate in several ways, including:

• Personalized learning at scale – Pearson will power its trusted and world-renowned content, assessment, upskilling, and certification services with Microsoft Azure cloud computing and AI infrastructure. This partnership will help Pearson further scale AI and technology capabilities across the business, expanding personalized learning and AI-enabled services to millions of learners, at different stages in their learning journey across the globe.
• Innovative collaboration – Pearson and Microsoft will launch a strategic collaboration aimed at helping people build AI proficiency and technical skills through new AI credentials and certifications. Additionally, Pearson and Microsoft will collaborate on a series of copilots, agents, and AI tools targeted at helping people develop skills—such as English language learning—and identify skills gaps seamlessly while they work.
• Investing in technology-driven careers – Microsoft will extend its current partnership with Pearson VUE, a key provider of Microsoft Cloud and Office certifications, through 2029. These certifications have already helped millions of young people, educators, and workers prepare for jobs that use Microsoft’s world-class technology. This expansion will open these vital credentials to scores of additional learners and workers around the world.
• Powering the Pearson workforce – After having piloted and tested Microsoft 365 Copilot, Pearson will expand its use by deploying it to its global workforce. This is part of an ongoing effort to introduce workplace AI tools that enhance efficiency, creativity, and productivity and drive better operational performance.

The partnership extends the efforts of both Microsoft and Pearson to provide AI skilling to people across the globe. In 2024, Microsoft and its partners trained and certified over 23 million people in digital skills. Pearson launched its Generative AI Foundations certification to equip professionals and students with the essential skills needed to work with generative AI technologies. Additionally, organizations around the world use Pearson VUE, along with Pearson’s AI-powered Faethm capability, and Credly badging to diagnose, assess, and certify skills.

Develop your AI skills

Curious about additional ways to develop AI literacy and build AI skills? Get started today and join the Microsoft AI Skills Fest. Registration is open now to engage in deep dives, experiential content, hackathons, and practical sessions that will enhance your AI skills over 50 days of discovery and learning, starting April 8, 2025.

There’s a significant opportunity to work together to build AI skills and empower the future workforce. Whether you, your team, or your students are just getting started or looking to refine your capabilities, discover resources to support your journey.

¹ IDC InfoBrief: sponsored by Microsoft, 2024 Business Opportunity of AI, IDC# US52699124, November 2024

The post Transforming the future of learning and work with AI skilling appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

A July 2024 Forrester report commissioned by Microsoft found that education institutions using Azure OpenAI Service saw improved student outcomes, streamlined operations, and increased access to technology. By Year 3, they are expected to boost content generation efficiency by 30% to 60% and improve chatbot resolution rates by 20% to 50%, driving positive impacts on graduation and employment rates.

As AI adoption accelerates, institutions must also prioritize trust by focusing on scalable security, data privacy, and governance measures. Microsoft supports this transition with AI solutions that integrate built-in protections, addressing risks such as prompt injections and bias, while maintaining data privacy and compliance to safeguard institutions.

Join us as we explore five key use cases of generative AI in higher education, along with examples of institutions that have successfully implemented AI to deliver more equitable and personalized student experiences.

1. Around-the-clock real-time campus support

As student expectations evolve, meeting their demand for around-the-clock support has become a critical factor in student satisfaction and institutional efficiency. For example, Tecnológico de Monterrey’s TECgpt is an AI platform that offers quick access to information like tuition, scholarships, and campus services, allowing users to retrieve personal details, such as scholarship status, within minutes.

Similarly, the University of South Florida improved response times and reduced staff workloads by automating IT ticketing with Azure OpenAI, launching an AI-powered Help Desk in just one week. The University of Hong Kong has also deployed several Azure OpenAI-powered chatbots to handle IT queries, administrative tasks, and course selection, freeing staff to focus on more complex issues. Education leaders are automating routine tasks and delivering personalized academic assistance at scale, boosting retention and accelerating graduation rates while streamlining operations.

I can invest more time in people now that I don’t have to worry about those recurring repetitive tasks because people are what it’s all about. It is revolutionizing all our workflows, our teaching, and our learning spaces quite rapidly. With Copilot, we’re able to do things bigger, better, but also equitably across the university space. It’s changing the way we do everything, and that is a big deal.

Tim Henkel, Assistant Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, University of South Florida (USF)

AI innovations are reshaping how institutions engage with students by offering around-the-clock support for inquiries about housing, student life, and campus services, significantly enhancing the overall student experience. These AI tools also provide personalized academic and career guidance, helping students select courses, optimize degree plans, and receive tailored advising.

Additionally, AI-powered virtual assistants streamline the financial aid process, guiding students through eligibility requirements, deadlines, and submissions, ensuring timely completion. Through AI integration, institutions can deliver responsive, student-centered services while improving operational efficiency, ultimately enriching the campus experience.

2. Personalize learning experiences at scale

In an environment where institutional success depends on student engagement and outcomes, personalized learning is becoming a strategic priority. With Data Science in Microsoft Fabric and Azure AI Services, institutions can integrate real-time data analysis from their LMS, leveraging AI to customize lessons, content, and pacing based on student performance.  AI tutors provide personalized, instant feedback, helping students make continuous progress and tackle challenging tasks with confidence. These tools empower institutions to deliver adaptive learning tailored to each student’s needs.

The Azure OpenAI Service provided remarkably high-quality hints generated by GPT-4 from a robust and scalable API that reliably handled heavy loads from hundreds of students working simultaneously near homework deadlines.

John DeNero, Faculty Director and Associate Teaching Professor, UC Berkeley

Universities around the world are leveraging AI to improve student outcomes and streamline administrative tasks. At the University of Sydney, the Cogniti platform utilizes AI teaching assistants to tailor feedback and adjust learning paths, boosting student engagement and academic success. IU International University of Applied Sciences in Germany offers an AI study buddy, Syntea, with always-available multilingual support and enhanced student engagement through personalized feedback. It also reduces course completion times by 27%, all while seamlessly integrating across platforms like myCampus and Microsoft Teams.

Similarly, UC Berkeley’s 61A-Bot, a specialized AI assistant powered by Azure OpenAI Service, has significantly enhanced student learning by providing real-time support and reducing homework completion times in their computer science courses. As institutions worldwide adopt AI-driven solutions, education leaders are transforming both learning personalization and operational efficiency, driving significant improvements in student success.

3. Accelerate learning for all with multi-language support

AI improves educational access by offering multi-language support through real-time translation, note-taking, and content delivery, enabling all students to engage fully in their preferred language. Flexible learning options allow students to review materials at their own pace, while chatbots offer seamless language transitions and targeted support to enhance comprehension and engagement.

By utilizing the advanced language models in Azure OpenAI Service, Cool English is taking an innovative step for English education in Taiwan, helping students reach their learning goals and overcome the challenges of limited opportunities for real-life conversational and writing practice.

Dr. Hao-Jan Howard Chen, Professor, Department of English at National Taiwan Normal University

This potential is already being realized through initiatives like National Taiwan Normal University’s “Cool English” platform, powered by Azure OpenAI, which has helped over 1.4 million students enhance their English skills through adaptive, conversational practice. Similarly, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) developed a multilingual chatbot to help EFL students write essays in English, offering seamless language switching and personalized guidance outside class hours. Powered by Azure OpenAI’s advanced models, the chatbot provides feedback and answers questions to help students improve their writing without generating essays for them. AI-powered language tools help create inclusive learning environments, enhance student outcomes, and attract a diverse international student body.

4. Accelerate academic research

AI is transforming academic research by accelerating discovery and innovation, and automating tasks like literature reviews, data analysis, and report generation. In April 2023, Microsoft Research launched the Accelerating Foundation Models Research (AFMR) initiative to accelerate the use of large-scale AI models in academia. Through Azure AI Services, AFMR provides universities with access to powerful foundation models, supporting research in fields such as healthcare, scientific discovery, and multicultural empowerment. With over 200 projects in 15 countries, AFMR is building a global AI research community.

If you have a really good idea, it’s very hard to just search the literature and try to find everything. This is sort of like having a super adviser, a brilliant astronomer with an encyclopedic memory who can say, ‘Well, that could be a very good idea and here’s why,’ or ‘That’s likely a bad idea and here’s why.’

Alyssa Goodman, Robert Wheeler Wilson Professor of Applied Astronomy, Harvard University

Universities are harnessing foundation models to accelerate scientific discovery and hypothesis generation. A collaboration between astronomers at Harvard University and The Australian National University has led to the development of an astronomy-focused chat application that utilizes GPT-4. This tool draws from over 300,000 astronomy papers, helping researchers extract key information and analyze data to develop new theories.

At Georgia Tech, researchers are utilizing Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service to analyze global EV charging data, uncovering insights for policy development and improving infrastructure reliability to support sustainable and equitable EV adoption. With AI solutions like Azure OpenAI Service, higher education institutions can automate repetitive tasks, improve collaboration, and scale research efforts, all while ensuring data security and focusing on high-impact academic work.

5. Trustworthy AI for education

There is a critical need for organizations to deploy AI responsibly. As AI transforms education, decision makers must ensure these systems are secure, private, and fair. A key strategy is to choose AI platforms with built-in safeguards, like content filtering and bias detection. For example, South Australia’s Department for Education successfully piloted EdChat, an AI chatbot powered by Azure AI, which protects 1,500 students across eight schools from harmful content while empower educators to focus on the benefits.

Equally important is the protection of sensitive student information. With built-in features to safeguard text content, including moderation and groundedness detection, institutions can ensure responsible AI deployment while protecting student data with enterprise-grade security and robust privacy measures to prevent breaches.

Key principles of trustworthy AI:

• Security: AI systems must be resilient against threats.
• Safety: AI must operate reliably in sensitive environments like classrooms.
• Privacy: Protecting personal data is essential to maintain trust.

AI is not just a tool—it’s the catalyst for a new era in education. By enhancing student support, personalizing learning, and accelerating academic research, AI empowers institutions to break down barriers, expand access, and create more inclusive and innovative learning environments. Those who embrace AI today will lead the future of education, building adaptable, forward-thinking institutions focused on student success.

The question is no longer if AI should be integrated, but how quickly it can be implemented to unlock its full potential. The future of education is here—is your institution ready to lead it?

Ready to transform your institution with AI? Partner with Microsoft to unlock new possibilities and drive educational success:

• Explore how AI can empower your institution.
• Use this Microsoft Learn Collection to explore, build, and deploy AI solutions with Azure AI Studio.

The post How higher education is reimagining student experiences with Azure OpenAI Service appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

Educational leaders are constantly on the lookout for new methods to improve student learning and equip them for future challenges and opportunities. With the swift progress in generative AI, a new range of possibilities has opened up for educational institutions.

The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) recognized the potential of AI to enhance computer science education, enrich learning experiences, and prepare students for the workplace of the future. They used Azure OpenAI Service to deploy a custom AI chatbot to support student learning and help students with complex coursework. Their experience offers a valuable example of ways to tailor AI to the unique needs and goals of your school.

Benefits of AI in higher education

From the University of Sydney’s AI assistants for teachers to Auburn University’s workshops on building custom chatbots. From enhancing research and practical applications at Georgia Tech to streamlining query responses at the University of South Florida, it’s clear that education continues to evolve with AI innovation.

Here are just a few examples of the many ways that AI can be used to differentiate instruction and enhance student learning:

• Personalized learning: AI can tailor educational experiences to individual students’ needs, providing personalized feedback and support.
• Scalability: AI tools can handle large volumes of requests, making them ideal for large classes and education at scale.
• Constant availability: AI-powered assistants can provide support around the clock, ensuring students have access to help whenever they need it.
• Efficiency: AI can help with routine tasks, allowing educators to focus on more complex and creative aspects of teaching.
• Data-driven insights: AI can analyze student performance data to start identifying areas for improvement and optimize learning strategies.

Supporting students with AI innovation

UC Berkeley PhD student, J.D. Zamfirescu-Pereira, together with master’s student Laryn Qi and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science faculty members Narges Norouzi and John DeNero, started looking into ways to build an interactive bot. The bot would be deployed on Azure OpenAI Service, specifically GPT-4 for the classroom, to support students taking the Intro to Computer Science class.

The team developed the 61A-Bot—named after the Intro to Computer Science course—to help students through the rigorous curriculum. The 61A-Bot acts as a specialized chatbot, helping students solve complex problems independently by providing hints whenever they encounter coding challenges.

“The Azure OpenAI Service provided remarkably high-quality hints generated by GPT-4 from a robust and scalable API that reliably handled heavy loads from hundreds of students working simultaneously near homework deadlines,” says John DeNero, Faculty Director and Associate Teaching Professor.

Deploying a custom AI assistant

UC Berkeley’s 61A-Bot is part of a broader trend of using AI and large language models (LLMs) in education. The deployment occurred over two semesters, where more than 2,000 students made over 100,000 requests to the chatbot. The bot offered one-shot, contextual feedback through both a “Get Help” button within a popular code editor and a “get feedback” feature within the command-line auto grader.

This innovative approach not only reduced homework completion times but also increased the availability of support options for students. Students who used the bot experienced significant reductions in homework completion times, seeing reductions of over 30 minutes. The immediate support provided by the bot was especially appreciated during late-night study sessions.

The benefits of 61A-Bot are far-reaching—from debugging help and personalized feedback to generating course materials and answering forum questions. The bot significantly reduced homework completion times and increased opportunities for students to receive real-time feedback. UC Berkeley has demonstrated how AI tools like those created by using Azure OpenAI Service are becoming integral to educational institutions.

Enhancing learning experiences with AI

As educational institutions continue to explore AI’s role in the classroom, it’s crucial to prioritize tools that make learning more efficient. The journey of 61A-Bot is a testament to the transformative power of AI and an example of thoughtful integration to enhance education.

A key ingredient of successful education is to ensure that students are spending their time effectively. AI tools that provide individualized guidance and feedback can help students make continuous progress in learning new material and tackle challenging assignments with confidence.

John DeNero, Faculty Director and Associate Teaching Professor, UC Berkeley

To evaluate the impact of introducing 61A-Bot, the research team sought to answer three key questions: whether the hints provided by the bot helped students improve their code, how effectively the hints captured problems in student code, and whether the issues resolved by students were the same as those addressed in the hints. The results were highly encouraging, demonstrating how the bot can help enhance learning experiences and support students in their academic journey.

Gaining practical experience

Through ingenuity and dedication, the faculty and students at UC Berkeley created a tool that not only helped make learning more efficient but also helped foster a sense of independence and confidence among their peers. Their tailored implementation of a specialized chatbot provided students with valuable opportunities to gain experience with AI in a secure, controlled setting, which will be increasingly important for their future careers.

“Generative AI needs to be deployed thoughtfully and carefully in order to have a positive impact on education, and this work is urgent because we’ve observed that many students will use AI on their assignments no matter what—whether it helps or hurts their learning,” says DeNero. “Therefore, quickly developing helpful ways of using AI is a critical need, and Azure OpenAI Service allowed us to make very fast progress at scale in UC Berkeley’s largest introductory computer science course.”

This is an exciting example of how schools can responsibly and securely incorporate generative AI tools into their teaching methods. By adopting this transformative technology, you can enhance educational outcomes and prepare students for the workplace of the future.

Explore and share these AI resources:

• AI in Education Report: Learn more about the need for bridging the AI literacy gap and starting AI conversations in our AI in Education Report.
• Worklab: Discover the latest research insights on the future of work and generative AI

The post UC Berkeley enhances computer science education with Azure OpenAI Service appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

AI-powered tools to support educators

For educators seeking inspiring and innovative instructional strategies, Microsoft AI tools provide much needed assistance. Explore how these tools can help you save time, personalize learning, and renew your passion for teaching.

• Copilot can help you generate engaging content and individualized suggestions, freeing up more time for direct student interaction. For added data protection, sign in using your school account. Use Copilot to create personalized content and tailored feedback based on a student’s unique learning requirements. You can also get suggestions for activities, resources, and assessments aligned with learning objectives or a rubric that you can attach to get recommendations specific to your classroom needs. Copilot is available at no cost with your school account and is accessible in Windows, Edge, and on the web.
• Copilot for Microsoft 365 gives you the power of Microsoft Copilot integrated seamlessly into the Microsoft 365 apps you use every day, like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Try generating creative writing prompts, translating languages, or summarizing complex topics in Word. It can also help streamline lesson planning by creating slides in PowerPoint on any topic or from any file, saving you valuable prep time.
• Microsoft Teams for Education is packed with AI features to help you set up your classroom for success. Streamline grading with AI-powered rubrics that adapt to student responses, allowing you to spend less time grading and more time supporting your students’ learning. You can also create comprehension questions tailored to the individual needs of your students or generate modules and descriptions for your class based on the subject, grade level, and learning objectives.

Discover more ways to use AI to support your instructional practice this school year:

• Empower your classroom with the knowledge to navigate AI responsibly by integrating the AI Classroom Toolkit into your lessons. It helps educators to teach students aged 13-15 how to use AI tools effectively through critical conversations and hands-on activities that build skills like fact-checking, data privacy, and mental wellbeing.
• Build fundamental AI skills with your learners in the engaging world of Minecraft Education. AI Foundations is a new AI literacy program that includes bite-sized animated videos that explain AI to learners ages 8 and up, free teaching materials and parent guide, and an imaginative new Minecraft world called Fantastic Fairgrounds where players solve problems and explore careers with AI (available in both Minecraft Education and Bedrock Edition on the Marketplace).
• Khanmigo for Teachers is an AI-powered tool that helps you generate fresh lesson ideas, personalizes student assignments, and explore resources so you can enhance your knowledge and stay current on content area topics. Created by Khan Academy and powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, Khanmigo for Teachers is available for free in English across more than 40 countries.
• Learn more ways to use Copilot in your classroom from the Microsoft Education blog post “Meet your AI assistant for education: Microsoft Copilot.”
• Explore the training course “Enhance teaching and learning with Microsoft Copilot” to learn how to use Copilot, design effective prompts, and analyze results.

Improved efficiencies for school leaders and staff

School leaders and staffs’ days are often filled with administrative tasks like responding to emails, attending meetings, and filling out paperwork. Microsoft’s AI-powered tools and resources offer support in managing day-to-day responsibilities, helping to enhance efficiency and streamline operations. Discover how these solutions can help you optimize workflows, improve communication, and focus more on fostering a positive school community.

• The Microsoft Education AI Toolkit is designed to guide school leaders through the process of integrating AI into their school’s operations and building robust plans for your organization. This toolkit offers you insights in how others are leveraging AI-powered technology, access to a collection of the latest research on AI in schools, and supports the latest information on Microsoft’s AI technology designed for education.
• Copilot for Microsoft 365 can transform how you handle time-consuming everyday tasks like emails and meetings. Use it to summarize long email threads and draft suggested replies in Microsoft Outlook. You can also use it to summarize key discussion points in Teams meetings, helping you keep track of action items and follow-ups. Try saving time by creating professional looking slides for staff meetings or board meetings.
• Copilot in Power BI offers advanced data analysis capabilities, allowing you to generate insightful reports, visualizations, and narrative summaries. Just describe your desired outcomes, and Copilot will deliver, making it simpler to track student performance, present insights, or conduct research. This intuitive tool helps you communicate data insights clearly, supporting informed decision-making and enriching the learning experience. By consolidating data into a centralized environment and leveraging Power BI’s advanced analytics, educational institutions can gain near real-time insights into student performance and operational efficiency, saving hours of manual labor through automated data processes.

Explore more ways to use AI to enhance operational efficiencies. Check out the AI learning hub on Microsoft Learn to help you skill up and use the power of AI to transform your work.

Enhanced operations and security for school IT teams

School IT teams play an important role in ensuring the smooth operations of school technology systems. Microsoft’s AI tools provide robust solutions to support IT professionals in managing security, data, and overall IT infrastructure efficiently. Learn how these tools can help you enhance cybersecurity, streamline data management, and improve IT operations.

• GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered assistant designed to help IT teams write code faster with fewer errors. It suggests code completions and generates entire code blocks, allowing you to automate repetitive tasks and focus on more complex issues. With GitHub Copilot, you can improve your development workflows, enforce code consistency, and reduce the time spent on debugging and code reviews.
• Microsoft Defender helps IT teams amplify security through advanced, comprehensive endpoint protection with AI capabilities. Defender promotes school safety by filtering harmful content and protecting sensitive data through robust encryption. School IT teams can use Microsoft Defender to increase their efficiency while securing schools at scale. Likewise, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint P2 – Students extends this industry-transforming technology to student devices, neutralizing malware and phishing attempts to safeguard your school from cyberattacks. Should an attack occur, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint P2 – Students’ automated response swiftly isolates compromised devices, minimizing damage and maintaining control.
• Copilot for Security further empowers IT teams with AI to help defend at machine speed. When integrated with Microsoft Sentinel, Copilot can summarize vast data signals into key insights, cutting through the noise to detect cyberthreats before they cause harm. Copilot can generate incident reports suitable for non-technical audiences, such as your school board, and identify user risks or generate access policies. This helps you respond to incidents in minutes instead of hours or days. Pricing for Copilot for Security and Sentinel is usage based and available as an add-on to Microsoft 365 academic licenses.

Learn more about how AI can support your IT teams:

• Discover how to better respond to security threats in this Microsoft Copilot for Security training module and uncover the steps to making the most of this AI-powered security analysis tool.
• Find out how to use AI to streamline your work with GitHub Copilot in this Microsoft Learn Official Collection.

Whether you’re an educator seeking innovative instructional strategies, a school leader aiming to improve efficiencies, or an IT professional focused on enhancing cybersecurity and data management, Microsoft’s AI-powered solutions are here to help. With tools like Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft Teams for Education, and Copilot for Security, your school can achieve these goals and more. Equip your school with the AI tools it needs to thrive this school year, and focus on what truly matters—supporting and engaging your students, family, and staff.

The post Power your school year with AI solutions for educators, leaders, and IT teams appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

By leveraging Azure’s powerful tools, you can tackle today’s challenges and prepare for future success. Learn how Azure can help your IT team modernize confidently, prepare for future growth, and embrace AI integration within your educational institution.

Empower innovation with a highly secure cloud foundation

Azure helps educational institutions modernize and grow with scalable cloud solutions. With a $20 billion investment in cybersecurity, Microsoft provides robust protection, including customized hardware, integrated controls, and defenses against threats like DDoS. Supported by a global team of over 3,500 cybersecurity experts, these measures ensure that student data is secure. This allows institutions to focus on strategic goals and student success.

Azure enables efficient resource management and creates a secure, agile, and AI-ready foundation, so educators can prioritize delivering equitable learning experiences for all. Here are five ways Azure can help you transform student experiences at your educational institution and streamline operations.

1. Create personalized education experiences with AI

Azure OpenAI Service helps you transform educational experiences with AI tailored to the unique needs of your students, educators, faculty, and staff. With access to the latest AI models, like GPT-4, you can create private AI interactions for a wide range of applications like curriculum design, helpdesk efficiency, programs for advising students, and automating routine tasks.

Reimagine student experiences and streamline administrative tasks

AI can help you create intelligent experiences across your educational institution. Run Azure OpenAI Service on your data to gain insights and apply conversational AI to a variety of use cases to help your educators, faculty, and staff save time and work more efficiently. Building your own copilots allows you to chat with your data using natural language, generate and summarize content, and surface information from vast amounts of data. Specifically, you can: 

• Personalize experiences: Tailor academic content, support, or services to individual learners based on their behavior, preferences, and needs.
• Offer service and support assistants: Improve service interactions and administrative processes with quick assistance through self-service portals.
• Automate information discovery: Use AI to extract valuable insights and knowledge from large volumes of data, summarize results and insights, and generate content. 

Learn more about how educational institutions worldwide are using Azure OpenAI Service to transform experiences for students, educators, faculty, and staff.

The University of South Florida (USF) leveraged Microsoft AI solutions and Azure OpenAI Service to streamline their IT ticket classification process enabling rapid, automated ticket handling, faster response times, and satisfaction. This integration led to the swift development of AI-powered Help Desk chatbots, reducing workloads and improving efficiency.

National Taiwan Normal University utilized Azure OpenAI’s Davinci and ChatGPT to create 10 “CoolE” bots for the Cool English platform, each with a distinct personality tailored to different ages and proficiency levels. These bots engage students in scenarios like solving mysteries or exploring career insights, providing personalized learning experiences based on individual preferences and needs. This innovative approach enhances student engagement and personalizes learning experiences

IU International University of Applied Sciences leveraged the scalability, availability, and speed of the cloud to build Syntea, powered by Azure OpenAI Service. Syntea provides students with personalized, round-the-clock learning assistance that integrates seamlessly with platforms like myCampus and Microsoft Teams, delivering instant answers and personalized feedback. This AI study tool enhances learning efficiency, reducing course completion times by 27%, and exemplifies IU’s commitment to improving educational outcomes with advanced AI.

The South Australia Department for Education, in collaboration with Microsoft, used Azure AI Content Safety to secure EdChat, an educational chatbot, ensuring a safe digital learning environment by blocking harmful content. This integration allowed for a successful trial with 1,500 students and 150 teachers, demonstrating EdChat’s effectiveness in enhancing research and learning. The robust safety features enabled rapid deployment and increased student engagement, providing confidence for broader implementation.

2. Maximize the value of your data

Data is only as powerful as your educators’ and staff’s ability to use it. Azure’s modernized data analytics centralizes and manages data services, integrating disparate sources and breaking down departmental silos. This ensures secure, compliant, and accessible insights, enabling informed decision-making. Azure’s scalable solutions also alleviate the IT burden, empowering faculty and staff to focus on education and innovation.

With solutions like Microsoft Fabric, which centralize and manage data on a single, open governed foundation, you can unlock and share actionable insights across your institution. With data seamlessly flowing from Fabric, you simply describe what you need—including reports, summaries, and calculations—using conventional language, and Copilot in Fabric does the rest. You can also fuel your own tailor-made generative AI experiences in Azure AI Studio with curated data from Fabric.

USF uses Microsoft solutions to accelerate data-driven decision-making by empowering its teams to access information and enriched business insights through a self-service approach. USF freed its teams from repetitive manual tasks by connecting its information sources using Azure Synapse Analytics and Microsoft Power BI to reduce administrative work and produce reports in minutes.

3. Scalability and flexibility

Azure cloud solutions provide the scalability and flexibility schools need to accommodate growth while optimizing costs and operational efficiency. This helps IT professionals stay ahead of technological advancements and manage resources across datacenters, the edge, and multiple clouds. With this adaptability, institutions can prepare for future demands while managing costs.

Colorado State University (CSU) showcases the scalability and flexibility of Azure in modernizing their IT infrastructure. By migrating to Azure Stack HCI, CSU’s College of Business consolidated its on-premises environments into a unified ecosystem, improving the performance of SQL servers, printing systems, and remote desktop services. With Azure Stack HCI, primary and secondary (K12), and higher education institutions can easily streamline their operations, enhance efficiency, and ensure a scalable, flexible environment for students and staff.

4. Operational efficiency

With Azure, IT professionals can create reliable and secure systems that are performant with cloud and AI investments and leverage enablement support to help achieve operational efficiency. We know no two schools are alike, so whether you’re a small educational institution or a large university with many campuses, you can get customized support in three distinct ways:

• Comprehensive resources: Get easy access to cloud workload best practices, Microsoft Cloud adoption guidance, and Azure Migrate.
• Direct access to experts: Simplify your cloud journey with help from Microsoft experts and partners.
• Extensive coverage across scenarios: Find comprehensive coverage for cloud and AI adoption stages and workload scenarios to support your unique needs.

Using Azure services, Torrens University has leveraged generative AI to enhance its online learning experience, saving 20,000 hours and $2.4 million in time and resources. They have seen first-hand how Azure empowers educational institutions to achieve operational excellence and drive innovation.

5. Deliver secure access to services for students and staff, wherever they are

Cloud-based IT infrastructure, like Azure, ensures seamless access to educational resources through virtual desktops, while providing continuity and cyber resilience with backup and disaster recovery. These measures quickly restore normal operations, safeguard critical data, and maintain school operations during disruptions, protecting against data exposure, high recovery costs, and reputational damage. Azure solutions also support remote learning and work, enabling students and staff to access necessary tools from virtually anywhere, ensuring uninterrupted education.

Avans University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands uses Azure Virtual Desktop for remote exams, saving €150,000 annually and enhancing accessibility for all students and staff. Azure Virtual Desktop provides access to applications and resources in any environment with flexibility and control in a familiar computing experience that can be securely accessed on any device.

Take the next step

Azure is a key partner in educational transformation, offering tools and services to tackle today’s challenges and build a strong future. By leveraging Azure, educational institutions can drive innovation, improve efficiency, and ensure success for future generations.

Explore these resources to get started and learn how Azure can help shape the future of your educational institution. 

• Training for Azure | Microsoft Learn
• Fundamentals of Azure OpenAI Service – Training | Microsoft Learn
• Develop Generative AI solutions with Azure OpenAI Service – Training | Microsoft Learn
• Microsoft Learn for Educators Program 
• Student Developer Resources – Microsoft Azure
• Microsoft AI Bootcamp for Educators – Azure AI Fundamentals 
• Prepare to teach AI-900 Microsoft Azure AI fundamentals in academic programs

The post 5 ways Microsoft Azure can reimagine student experiences and streamline operations appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

The University of Sydney (UofS) recognized the potential of generative AI to enhance teaching practices and assessments, enrich the learning experience, and prepare students for an evolving job market. However, they quickly realized that an out-of-the-box solution wouldn’t suffice, given their unique requirements for security, customization, and contextualization. UofS has demonstrated a successful path forward using Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service to build a custom AI solution to meet their needs. By showcasing responsible and effective integration of generative AI, they provide a model for other institutions. Their experience offers valuable insights to tailor AI tools to your unique needs and goals for successful implementation.

Read the full UofS customer story to learn more about their exciting custom AI solutions.

Building a custom AI assistant

Enter Cogniti, a self-serve web app authenticated through Microsoft Entra ID, developed by Danny Liu, Professor of Educational Technologies at UofS. Cogniti is built on the secure and private Azure OpenAI Service platform and empowers faculty to create their own AI agents that they can customize and contextualize to their unique needs, helping students learn in pedagogically meaningful ways. “Faculty love the fact that they can control and therefore trust the AI and that it’s so easy to build their own agents using plain language and embed it into our learning management system for students to use,” said Liu.

With the help of Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot, Professor Liu handled the bulk of Cogniti’s development, from coding to faculty integration. “It was amazing to have Microsoft Copilot working alongside me, troubleshooting, and debugging,” he says. “I wouldn’t have been able to build Cogniti in the time that I did if it weren’t for Copilot.”

By leveraging Azure’s robust infrastructure and GitHub Copilot, Professor Liu developed Cogniti efficiently while maintaining alignment with the university’s objectives. Cogniti addressed privacy concerns by ensuring the confidentiality of prompts and responses, which are not used for further training by OpenAI. This powerful combination provides a secure environment for sensitive educational data and accelerates the development process.

Practical pedagogical applications

Cogniti has been successfully integrated into various pedagogical scenarios at UofS, enhancing student learning and faculty support.

• Bridging theory and practice: Occupational therapy students gained practical experience by role-playing with “Mrs. S,” an AI-simulated client. This allowed them to apply classroom knowledge to a realistic scenario, effectively bridging the gap between theory and practice.
• Consistent student feedback: A coordinator managing large first-year classes with 1,500 students used a Cogniti AI agent to improve grading consistency, quality, and efficiency. The agent incorporated rubrics, assignment expectations, and feedback examples, resulting in faster marking and more consistent feedback for students.
• On-demand biochemistry support: UofS teaches biochemistry to over 800 students who have thousands of questions each semester. With Cogniti, these students can engage in dialogue anytime, discussing course material, explaining their understanding, and receiving valuable feedback from the AI tutor.
• Empowering tutors in complex conversations: Following legislative changes in Australia, the University of Sydney implemented a new student support policy requiring tutors and faculty to advise students on academic issues. These meetings often lead to discussions about well-being, health, or finances. To help tutors navigate unexpected topics, the university fed scenario-specific prompts to Cogniti, offering instant guidance for questions beyond the scope of academic issues.

The benefits of Cogniti are far-reaching. Educators can now allocate more time to deeper engagement and personalized feedback, while students enjoy enhanced learning experiences through interactive AI assistance. Cogniti also offers students valuable opportunities to develop familiarity with AI within a safe, controlled environment, which will be increasingly crucial in their future careers.

The university’s commitment to equitable access to AI is clear in its decision to offer Cogniti for free to all students and staff. As Joanne Wright, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Education, states, “One of the values of Cogniti is that it can be used in a number of different learning settings. Faculty can even personalize it to meet their students’ preferences, weaknesses, or strengths.” Looking ahead, the university hopes to expand Cogniti’s use to more institutions worldwide, believing that its controllability, stability, safety, and accuracy can help dispel fears surrounding generative AI in education. Learn more about the University of Sydney’s inspiring journey with custom generative AI.

Build your own custom AI solution

If you’re interested in building your own custom generative AI solution for your institution, in a similar way to what the UofS accomplished with Cogniti, consider these first steps for getting started.

1. Purchase the necessary IT infrastructure, licenses, and software to create a custom AI application using the Azure OpenAI Service.
2. Review the Overview of Responsible AI practices for Azure OpenAI models and Azure OpenAI’s Transparency Notes to ensure responsible use of the service and understand any system limitations.
3. Assemble a group of school and instructional leaders who are enthusiastic about piloting your AI program to help design, test, and provide feedback.
4. As you begin to develop and document your implementation plan, consider addressing the concerns of all stakeholders, including community members.
5. Before you begin building, familiarize yourself with step-by-step technical overviews in the implementation roadmap in the “AI Navigators” section of the Microsoft Education AI Toolkit to understand how educational institutions like the Department for Education in South Australia successfully implemented their AI programs.

The UofS is also keen to partner with institutions who may want to adapt Cogniti in their own contexts. This is an inspiring example of how educational institutions can safely and responsibly build and integrate generative AI tools into teaching and learning practices. By embracing this transformative technology, you can also improve the quality of students’ education and equip them with the skills they need to thrive in an increasingly digital world.

Explore more about Azure OpenAI services and how to build custom chatbots with these resources:

• Azure AI Studio
• Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals: Generative AI
• Microsoft Copilot Studio
• GitHub Copilot Fundamentals – Understand the AI pair programmer

The post University of Sydney: Building custom AI solutions with Azure OpenAI appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.

Over 3,700 students from more than 100 countries participated in five weeks of virtual hacking, diving deep into the niche of education, thinking through critical questions around the use of AI in the future of learning.

Judging criteria for the Microsoft AI Classroom Hackathon

With $12,000 USD in prizes up for grabs, participating undergraduate and graduate students were asked to reimagine education in the era of AI. Winning projects demonstrated core components of Microsoft Azure—from the latest machine learning and generative AI models of Azure AI, Azure Databases such as Azure Cosmos DB and Azure SQL, and Azure App Services, such as Azure Functions or Azure Kubernetes Service.

Bonus credit was given to projects that demonstrated accessibility considerations as well as Microsoft’s Responsible AI Principles.

Winning teams spanned the globe, hailing from India, Turkey, Singapore, Canada, Germany, and the United States. Competing across categories for Best Graduate and Undergraduate Technical Applications, as well as a no-code category for generative AI, winning projects touched on themes that range from accessibility to personalized learning to gamification. Beyond cash prizes, winning teams have support to continue their projects and AI learning journeys mentorship from Microsoft, including access to Microsoft for Startups resources such as Founders Hub.

Celebrating innovation: Meet the hackathon winners

Technical Project | First Place

ChatEDU: Revolutionizing Education with Azure AI

Microsoft AI Classroom Hackathon First Place winner, ChatEDU, offers personalized study guides, multiple-choice tests, long answer formats, and context-driven sessions.

Project overview: ChatEDU is not just an educational tool, it’s a revolution in learning. By harnessing the power of Azure AI, including GPT-4 and Azure’s diverse databases and services, ChatEDU transcends traditional learning methods. Transforming any text or file into an immersive tutoring experience, ChatEDU offers personalized study guides, multiple-choice tests, long answer formats, and context-driven sessions. 

Meet the team: “We are a team of four computer science undergraduates from Vanderbilt University. Since meeting during our first year of school, we have collaborated on various projects and dedicated numerous hours to exploring the possibilities offered by emerging technologies. The Microsoft AI Classroom hackathon provided us with the ideal platform to create a tool that contributes to the community that brought us together.”

Congratulations to JP Higgens, Jason Headman, Jake Underwood, and Vasco Singh on their first-place win.

Technical Project | Second Place

Dialogues Through Time: An Educational History Game

Microsoft AI Classroom Hackathon Second Place winner, “Dialogues Through Time,” combines immersive storytelling and interactive AI-driven dialogues to offer a unique learning experience.

Project overview: Embark on a groundbreaking journey through history with “Dialogues Through Time.” This innovative educational game combines immersive storytelling, interactive AI-driven dialogues, and stunning visuals to offer a unique learning experience.

Meet the team: Kryštof Olik and Bennet Poh are based out of Munich, Germany. Kryštof has extensive expertise in AI application development, while Bennet brings experience as a skilled 3D artist and game developer to the table. “Seeing how well our skills complement one another for what is needed for this project, we started work right away once we put our ideas for the project down on paper on a chilly Thursday evening after our university lecture.”

Technical Project | Third Place

Insight: An Intelligent and Personalized Learning Experience

Microsoft AI Classroom Hackathon Third Place winner, Insight, enables users to upload lecture notes by subject, transforming them into personalized quizzes and flashcards.

Project overview: “Our unwavering mission was inspired by the quest for enhanced learning experiences. We envisioned a transformative platform where students seamlessly convert mundane lecture notes into dynamic quizzes and flashcards, thus elevating the very fabric of their educational journey. This vision aims to provide students with an effortless tool that amplifies their understanding, turning conventional study materials into interactive and engaging learning resources. Our solution, Insight, enables users to upload lecture notes by subject, transforming them into personalized quizzes and flashcards. Imagine having a personalized study guide tailored to your unique needs, a companion that not only enhances your learning capacity but makes education itself more engaging and effective.”

Meet the team: Bryan Kang and Manfred Leow are based out of Singapore and have expertise in Python and Java development. The duo plan to continue working on their project. “Our journey doesn’t end here. The future of Insight includes implementing features like AI analytics and Speech to Text for recording lectures. We are committed to refining the user experience and maximizing the potential of AI in education.

Best Undergraduate Student App

DevHub: Empowering Students with AI Mentorship

Project overview: DevHub is a machine learning-based web application that empowers students in their core skills and helps them become job-ready. This platform will help students get mentorship through a machine learning model and professional community members, a well-structured roadmap for different domains, and an internship to build real-world and complex projects. The platform focuses on providing students with the latest learning opportunities and helping them build real-world projects, enhancing their technical and core skills.

Meet the team: Abdul Raheem is a Python lover and machine learning enthusiast who loves playing with data. An open-source contributor and learner based out of Sāhīwal, Punjab, Pakistan.

“As a community person, I understand the shared struggle that my community is facing where many students are unsure about their career path, leading to unproductive time in college. Those with passion lack a structured roadmap for skill development that can make them job-ready. In my tier-3 colleges, internship opportunities are almost none to zero because of our remote location as well. To address these challenges, my friend and I built a solution to help students become job-ready.”

Best Graduate Student App

Cuepal: AI Flashcard Quizzes for Students

Microsoft AI Classroom Hackathon Best Graduate Student App, Cuepal, is a tool where student notes are transformed by OpenAI’s GPT-4 into tailored flashcards and quiz questions.

Project overview: Cuepal is an interactive, classroom-integrated tool where student notes are transformed by OpenAI’s GPT-4 into tailored flashcards and quiz questions, ensuring students remain attentive and immediately benefit from customized study materials. This approach not only reinforces learning in real-time but also streamlines the creation of educational resources.

Meet the team: Cuepal AI was a collaborative effort across continents between Wei Chun, Benedict Neo, Victoria Amoroso, Cloey Wong, and Caroline Huynh. When thinking through the vision for where the project will evolve, the team is looking towards great advances in personalized learning. “Looking ahead, we aim to introduce a teacher’s module for class and student management. Additionally, we envision integrating a digital tutor for each student, offering personalized guidance and insights into their knowledge gaps and errors. This next step will further our mission to revolutionize the educational experience through tailored, AI-enhanced learning tools.”

Best No Code Project

Neural Synchronisation: A Collaborative Learning System

Project overview: “I was going through the ideas generator to see what potential ideas we could work on when I came across Neural Synchronisation Learning which takes into account real-time feedback and assessments. I came across a hackathon project through my LinkedIn connection that provides AI support to children having difficulty writing with hand tremors so while brainstorming I decided to make a platform that integrates mental health support for individuals and, a readability format for people with essential tremors and support for introverts.”

Meet the team: Akanksha Bhimte is based out of India, and this was her first hackathon project. The accomplishments she’s most proud of: “I take pride in the development of innovative neural synchronization algorithms. These algorithms effectively identify speech dominance, encourage balanced participation, and adapt responses in real time based on the evolving dynamics within the group. Leveraging Azure Cognitive Services, our system can accurately transcribe spoken content in real-time, enhancing the overall user experience. What we learned. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to make things inclusive for people who might have a hard time learning things.”

Honorable Mention

EquEdu: Making Training Videos Accessible for the Visually Impaired

Project overview: Did you know that there are 253 million visually impaired and 360 million hearing impaired people in the world? EquEdu is a content accessibility tool that allows you to make online educational content accessible for the visually impaired.

Meet the team: “I am Atakan. I’m a visually impaired person and a product developer. Since the age of 13, I have been developing software and I try to benefit from a lot of online training content both in my school life and in my software development process. However, since there is no audio description for the visually impaired, I am often faced with sentences like “we will click here, you see it on the screen” and I cannot benefit from the training.

As someone who frequently uses AI in his daily life, when I realized that the problem that I mentioned is not only my problem, but there are millions of people like me around the world, we started to develop EquEdu, which is powered by AI.

Building foundations for innovation

Microsoft is committed to fostering innovation for the next generation of students and young professionals. For more information about upcoming educational initiatives, bookmark the Microsoft Education Blog and check back frequently for updates.

Additional resources for young professionals and early career developers are available at:

• Microsoft for Startups
• Azure for Students
• Microsoft Imagine Cup
• Microsoft Reactor

To learn more about Microsoft’s latest innovations in data and AI, read the article The Microsoft Intelligent Data Platform—Unleash your data and accelerate your transformation on the Microsoft Azure Blog. 

Overall, we are blown away by the quality of submissions and would like to provide a special thanks to all of our participants, as well as our partners at Devpost and University of South Florida, for helping to host the in-person and virtual components of the hackathon experience.

For more information on submitted projects and winning teams from the Microsoft AI Classroom Hackathon, check out the official hackathon project gallery on Devpost.

The post Meet the winners of the Microsoft AI Classroom Hackathon appeared first on Microsoft Education Blog.