Team leads: Claire Hudson (Bristol Medical School) and Sarah Zaghloul (University of Bristol Law School)

Team members: Jessica Irving (School of Earth Sciences), Shan Hua (University of Bristol Business School) and Sam Bell (University of Bristol Business School) 

AI is developing at pace, and the education sector faces a choice of how to engage with it. A full understanding of the risks and opportunities for teaching, learning and assessment - from the perspective of both teachers and learners - is essential for developing practice and for policy making that will maintain fairness without ignoring this important area of technological advancement.  

In 23/24 BILT funded an Associate Project focused on exploring the support needs of academic staff and students in relation to AI and on briefing senior management. For 24/25 the Associate project team will build on this work to explore four areas: 

• How can and should staff use AI in the design and development of their teaching? From class plans and to generating content, where is it appropriate to use AI when preparing teaching materials?
• How can and should staff use AI when conducting marking and producing feedback? Opt-in pilot programmes testing the use of different AI tools for marking and feedback will answer this question. 
• How can we appropriately integrate AI into the classroom? What practice works well and supports our students’ AI skills development? 
• How can we shape our assessments to be AI-proof, AI-resilient or AI-engaged? 

Team leads: Sally Dowling (Bristol Medical School) and Sheena Warman (Bristol Veterinary School)

Team members: Annika Johnson (School of Economics), Rachael Miles (School of Chemistry) and Thomas Sealy (School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies)

A key priority for BILT is to encourage the scholarship of learning and teaching and pedagogic research across the University. A number of pedagogic research groups exist across the university offering various levels of support to current and potential pedagogic researchers. BILT aims to work with these groups to develop and improve support open to all staff.  

In 2023/24 BILT funded an Associate Research Project focused on exploring the support needs of academic staff engaging or wishing to engage in pedagogic research.  For 2024/25 the Associate project team will build on this research by developing a central web space for pedagogic researchers, offering advice and support. This webspace is likely to include a combination of new and curated resources, and links to current research groups. This will involve working with current pedagogic research groups and other key actors. 

Team leads: Hannah Grist (Bristol Institute for Learning and Teaching); Stephanie King (Faculty of Health and Life Sciences); Ros O’Leary (Bristol Institute for Learning and Teaching)

Team members: Faculty PGR Directors; Bristol Doctoral College

This Enhancing Research Culture (ERC) funded project sought to develop and enhance PGR supervision training for the University of Bristol. It built upon the successful training initiative funded in the 2023/2024 academic year, with a focus on scaling and refining its delivery across the institution. Two main objectives guided the 2024/2025 phase:

1. Embedding Introductory Training Across All Faculties: The pilot training programme for new/less experienced supervisors was expanded and fully integrated across all university Faculties, ensuring broader access and consistent implementation. This institutional rollout supported staff in developing key skills and knowledge aligned with the university’s strategic goals and wider sector standards related to PGR supervision and its relationship with research culture

2. Developing a New Workshop for more Experienced Supervisors: A new training workshop for more experienced supervisors was co-designed and piloted in partnership between BILT and the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. This workshop built on the core training framework while exploring more complex cases, offering a tailored and effective learning experience for experienced supervisors.

Through these initiatives, the project successfully advanced the institutionalisation of the training model and demonstrated its adaptability to different academic contexts.