The complex relationship between Generative AI and Academic Integrity within the Higher Education (HE) sector is to be explored over the next two days at a Limerick event hosted in partnership by Mary Immaculate College (MIC), University of Limerick (UL) and Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), and in association with the National Academic Integrity Network.
The Navigating the New Frontier: Generative AI and Academic Integrity conference began in the Clayton Hotel on 14 October and opening the event, Professor Niamh Hourigan, Acting President of MIC, highlighted the need for urgency in understanding how AI will shape the higher education field:
‘‘I think the critical issue is the question of time. With the emergence of ChatGPT in 2022, a very large genie was let out of the bottle. It’s the nature of academics to research, to test, to consider, to reflect before we make pronouncements; that’s why we’re academics. Before making pronouncements on this seismic shift though, the problem is that we don’t really have that time. Our academic colleagues are actively demanding guidance in real time as to how to manage the challenges of generative AI in terms of academic integrity, because the economies and societies that we serve are now asking for graduates that use generative AI as a tool instead of simply running away from it.’’
The conference included ideas and debates around Generative AI including acceptable use, equity of access, originality, designing for the classroom and assessment, and policy development and implementation. Attendees included academics, students, professional support staff and policy developers—with a mix of onsite and online registrations.
Conference organisers, Dr Katherine Whitehurst (Director of Teaching & Learning at MIC) and Dr Mary-Claire Kennedy (Academic Integrity Lead at University of Limerick), said about the event:“The aim of this event is to hopefully move the conversation forward as we all begin to think about what academic integrity will look like in the age of Generative AI. We will get to explore and consider how Generative AI might shape our classrooms, our policies, our staff’s work and our students’ futures, as we begin to question what the adoption of this type of technology might look like in the Higher Education sector. We will be given the opportunity to hear from voices from around the world—not only in terms of our speakers who come from Ireland, the UK, America and Canada—but also in terms of our conference participants who are tuning in from as far away as Australia. The conference committee is really looking forward to collectively engaging with the interesting and complex issues at play.”
Monday’s keynote speaker was Dr Christine O'Dea of King's College London, who delivered a talk titled ‘Gen AI is here to stay. What is the way forward for higher education globally?’ and on Tuesday, Dr Daniel S. Schiff of Purdue University is scheduled to speak on ‘Dilemmas in the AI-enabled classroom: Navigating pedagogy, ethics, and transformation in the era of AIED’. The event will include conference presentations and a roundtable panel discussion.
The event was funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.
