Expanding access to higher education has always been central to York鈥檚 mission. We know that our province and our country cannot afford to leave talent behind. When I talk to our students, I hear every day about the sacrifices they and their families make so they can go to university. 聽Over 60 per cent of our students work part-time. They work hard because they and their families believe that York can unlock opportunity for them.

Delivering on that promise means we have to do things differently. To prepare students to enter a rapidly changing workforce, we鈥檙e focused on expanding experiential learning opportunities, where students connect their academic programs to real-world experience. We鈥檙e supporting student entrepreneurs and startups and connecting lifelong learning to the future skills needs of the economy.

As we prepare students to launch their careers, we need to make sure they have access to the services and support they need to excel in their studies. That is why we are so excited to partner with IBM to develop a new virtual assistant. The assistant provides students with advisory services designed to improve their university experiences by delivering both academic and personal guidance covering a wide range of topics in real-time. This is the first time that IBM AI technology has been used in this way at a Canadian university.

In the future, my hope is that we can explore how to better personalize learning in and out of the classroom.

The expectations placed on universities have never been higher or more complex. But through our partnership with IBM and our ongoing commitment to educational innovation, I am confident our graduates will have what they need to thrive in a challenging world.

Written by Rhonda Lenton,聽President and Vice Chancellor, 快播视频.

This article was originally posted聽.

The post York鈥檚 Partnership with IBM is About Doing Higher Education Differently appeared first on IPOsgoode.

Developed collaboratively by York and IBM, this virtual assistant demonstrates how technology 鈥� specifically AI 鈥� can be used in an educational setting to enhance the quality of the overall student experience. This is the first time that IBM AI technology has been used in this way at a Canadian university.

快播视频 is continually introducing inventive new forms of experiential education and technology-enhanced learning that students want. The virtual assistant brings this same creativity to student services, so they are more tailored and responsive to individual student needs whenever they arise. More than 100 York students are directly involved in developing this solution. They are helping the virtual assistant to get better and better at guiding students to the right self-service or in-person contact for academic support or counselling in such areas as mental health, campus involvement and career services.

Since starting a pilot phase in January, there have been more than 75,000 student interactions with the virtual assistant. These interactions and over 1,700 feedback comments have been used to train the solution, improving the way it understands student questions and the answers it provides.

鈥淭his is a transformative time for learning and York is proud to be collaborating with a global tech industry leader like IBM to connect our students immediately to the right network of people and supports to help them meet their goals,鈥� said Lisa Philipps, 快播视频鈥檚 provost and vice-president academic. 鈥淭ogether, with IBM鈥檚 powerful AI technology and York鈥檚 innovative student services professionals, we are learning how to combine high-quality, in-person services with real-time information that is delivered to students鈥� personal devices. The unique virtual assistant is a breakthrough for 24-7 student support services and York is leading the way.鈥�

Leveraging IBM鈥檚 AI technology, the student support solution relies on augmented intelligence to interact with students, letting them communicate in their own words, in English or French. The virtual assistant uses information about a student鈥檚 program of study and year level to respond to questions submitted in a free-form chat window. The more the solution is used, the more it is trained to better understand students鈥� questions.

鈥淲e are seeing a real appetite for transformative innovation in our post-secondary communities right across Canada, and 快播视频 is one of the pioneers,鈥� said Colette Lacroix, the national leader for higher education at IBM Canada. 鈥淏y harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to make interactions personalized and engaging, York and IBM are making significant strides in improving the student experience. York鈥檚 commitment to the success of its students is impressive and it鈥檚 been a great experience working together.鈥�

The virtual guide offers immediate assistance to students seeking answers to their questions
鈥淭he virtual guide provides assistance in cool and engaging ways with the addition of emojis and interesting facts within the chat,鈥澛爏aid Jasmin Itaychany, a student at 快播视频. 鈥淚t has the potential to solve many problems. One very helpful tool is the fact that it sometimes provides a list of questions a student may want answers to and all they have to do is click on one to reveal a very detailed answer. This guide is especially useful for students who may suffer from anxiety when speaking to someone in person, which will help increase inclusivity and accessibility on campus.鈥�

York and IBM are committed to exploring innovative educational services that personalize learning both inside and outside of the classroom.

This article was originally posted on yFile, click to read the original post.

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