Student experiences of
Generative Artificial Intelligence
in UK universities
Researching the impact of GenAI on students.
The expanding integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in various sectors presents exciting prospects. These tools have potential for transformative interactions between humans and computers. Higher Education is the sector at the forefront of teaching, learning and research, providing the ideal site for researching the impact and implications of generative AI. It is imperative to comprehend how AI technologies such as ChatGPT are being perceived and used by students to fully harness their potential benefits. The incorporation of AI into educational systems, however, brings forth challenges including accessibility, trust, and effectiveness.
This project aims to explore these complexities, focusing on the uptake, application, and influence of AI tools like ChatGPT within the academic lives of UK university students. This research will seek to unravel student perceptions and interactions with these technologies, enabling a deeper understanding of their experiences. Furthermore, this project will investigate the hurdles students face in the adoption of AI tools. The aim of this comprehensive approach is to yield valuable insights that can guide future strategies and policies regarding AI integration in higher education, enhancing the student learning experience.
This research project will adopt a mixed-methods approach, integrating both qualitative and quantitative research methods, to comprehensively explore students' experiences and attitudes towards the use of AI tools in UK higher education. The research will be carried out at multiple institutions across the UK and will include large student survey and interviews/focus groups. The objectives are:
To examine UK university students' perceived usefulness and acceptance of AI tools for learning.
To investigate the diverse uses of AI tools in academic tasks, their frequency, and the underlying reasons for these usage patterns among UK university students.
To explore both the challenges and facilitators affecting the adoption and wider utilisation of AI tools in UK universities, including both user-level and system-level factors.
To co-develop evidence-based recommendations for enhancing AI tools use and implementation in the education sector, in collaboration with relevant communities such as students, educators, university administrators, and AI developers.
Objectives & Methods
StudentXGenAI Survey - 2025
From September to December 2025 the StudentXGenAI Survey will be running at 10 UK universities. The survey will explore key areas of student use and experience of GenAI in Higher Education, such as:
Knowledge & Access
Use and Usefulness
Attitudinal (trust, values and perceived impact)
Participants in the survey must be over 18 and studying at one of the 10 participating institutions to take part. The survey is open to home and international students of all levels of study (undergraduate, postgraduate, graduate or PhD/research student). We want to to hear from students who are using GenAI and also those who are not - all perspectives are important.
The survey has been developed by the Student AI in Higher Education: Student Perspectives project team (see Chung et al., 2024) and adapted for the UK by the StudentXGenAI research team.
Meet the Researchers
Professor Sam Illingworth, Principle Investigator
Sam Illingworth (s.illingworth@napier.ac.uk) is a Professor in the Department of Learning and Teaching Enhancement (DLTE), with internationally recognised expertise in higher education, interdisciplinary studies, and science communication. He leads pedagogical innovation across the University, through both DLTE and the Centre for Higher Education Research (CHER). His research integrates poetry and generative AI into creative pedagogies, aiming to enhance staff and student well-being and foster a sense of belonging. This approach has proven effective in cultivating meaningful dialogues across diverse groups and amplifying the voices of marginalised communities. His work demonstrates the impact of interdisciplinary approaches to learning and teaching, to learn more visit www.samillingworth.com.
Dr Stephen Gow, Research Fellow
Stephen Gow (s.gow@napier.ac.uk) is the Leverhulme Research Fellow at the Department of Learning and Teaching Enhancement (DLTE) at Edinburgh Napier University. Prior to this role he worked for ten years as the Assessment and Academic Integrity Coordinator and Secretary to the Standing Committee on Assessment at the University of York. His PhD from the Department of Education at the University of York explored the topic of academic integrity and epistemological development of Chinese Masters students in the UK and his most recent work analysed academic integrity policies in the People’s Republic of China. Stephen lived in China for five years, working at Shanghai University and Tsinghua University. Since 2019, he has turned his interest to the impact of translation software and artificial intelligence on assessment and academic integrity, which became highly relevant with the introduction of ChatGPT in late 2022.