{"id":168928,"date":"2025-03-28T09:17:40","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T15:17:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/?p=168928"},"modified":"2025-04-01T09:21:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T15:21:53","slug":"ai-day-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/education-and-humanism\/ai-day-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"How AI Is Empowering University Research"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Artificial Intelligence (AI)<\/a> could help college professors carve out more time for teaching. Bruce Thompson<\/a>, Head of Americas at Microsoft Education, explained during his talk at AI Day 2025 hosted by Tec de Monterrey that new AI-powered tools can save faculty valuable time when it comes to planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thompson delivered the lecture Practical Applications of AI in Education<\/em>, where he pointed out that currently, 72% of employees in education report lacking the time and energy to do their jobs effectively<\/strong>. What\u2019s more, nearly 77% said they\u2019d be open to letting AI handle a significant portion of their workload.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can imagine repetitive tasks that go with teaching, that go with learning, that can be removed or can be done by AI,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen these technologies are integrated into institutions, the return on investment can reach up to three and a half times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the areas already benefiting from AI include fraud detection, cybersecurity, automation of IT and administrative tasks, delivery of educational content, and student support services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bruce Thompson, Head of Americas – Microsoft Education, participated virtually in the event. (Photo: Alejandro Salazar \/ TecScience)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Scientific Use of AI<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thompson noted that AI has a wide range of applications that universities can roll out at different levels \u2014 from answering students\u2019 questions and providing academic support and tutoring, to helping design projects and even transforming the entire research ecosystem with scientific tools available to institutions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He highlighted the case of a tutoring robot launched by the University of Michigan, which had a measurable impact on student performance. Grades improved by 7%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis happened because students were actually learning. They could ask questions whenever they needed to, without feeling embarrassed for not knowing the answer,\u201d Thompson explained. \u201cIt gave them the ability and the confidence to learn at their own pace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thompson also pointed to TECgpt<\/a> as an example \u2014 the Tec\u2019s proprietary AI platform developed using Microsoft products and services like Copilot Studio and Azure OpenAI. The platform allows the use of agents and assistants powered by both institutional databases and public information to offer AI-driven services and experiences to different users within the university community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With tools like these, he added, AI can be democratized across university campuses, with practical applications for student services, academic support, and research activities that can help streamline processes and ease workloads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, in the field of research, AI can speed up and simplify tasks such as analyzing data, developing hypotheses, searching for previous studies on a topic, analyzing trends, and creating comparison tables<\/strong>. Throughout this process, AI can organize and compare data, generate visualizations, calculate statistical differences, and even draft results \u2014 turning what used to take weeks or days into something achievable in just a few hours or minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pictured: the new version of TECbot. (Photo: Alejandro Salazar \/ TecScience)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Universities Stepping Into the AI Era<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to the 2023 Work Trend Index<\/a>, the skills required in the age of AI include analytical judgment, flexibility, emotional intelligence, creative evaluation, intellectual curiosity, the ability to detect and manage biases, and AI delegation skills (prompt engineering). Companies like Microsoft are actively looking for these competencies, which can be developed with the support of higher education institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thompson emphasized the need for universities to promote a culture of AI literacy and skills\u2014not only encouraging students and faculty to become familiar with AI but also ensuring the entire organization learns how to leverage these technologies effectively and is ready for the coming transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also stressed the importance of universities preparing their data assets for AI\u2014using tools like Azure\u2014and developing a clear strategy for using them. In addition, institutions should design smart application experiences powered by AI and evaluate their potential use cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s coming is a shift where workloads and information begin to be shared across departments, with agents working together. Everything will be managed and delivered through these agents, and everything will be connected to administration and faculty \u2014 we call this an agent ecosystem,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The speaker noted that in the coming years, AI solutions will become more stable and reliable, leading to better virtual tutors, semi-automated repetitive tasks, and increased opportunities for self-directed learning\u2014for example, to better support neurodiverse students and those with special needs. This will also help improve access to education and promote greater equity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also pointed out that for this success to materialize, it\u2019s essential to focus on how prompts are designed and understood. At the same time, he stressed that AI will not replace teachers, as it cannot replicate the empathy, leadership, and guidance that only a human educator can bring to the classroom. Instead, this technology will serve as an assistant to enhance their educational work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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