The gen AI models Russell Group university students are encouraged to use, and what for

It’s been nearly four years since ChatGPT dropped (and students began using it for university work). This autumn, so many of the UK’s Russell Group universities have unveiled generative AI software for students and staff to use. Here’s a deep dive into which generative AI tools Russell Group university students are being encouraged to use, and what for.

University of Birmingham

The University of Birmingham has just launched BirminghamAI, aka bAI, a “new generative AI platform, giving [students] access to some of the latest tools, including ChatGPT and Claude, in a safe and secure environment”.  University of Birmingham staff developed BAI with people from Cloudforce. The model is private, so it’s theoretically more secure for students to use this than a free online chatbot.

The uni ran workshops in early November, in which undergraduate and postgraduate students could experiment with the new models, and learn how to adapt chat models to assist with specific tasks. The aim is for this AI model to help students find resources, summarise reading and draft work.

Durham University

The uni has a partnership with Microsoft, and just opened an AI Skills Centre of Excellence. Durham students and staff already have basic Copilot Chat accounts, but they’ll soon be upgraded to the premium version.

University of Edinburgh

The uni has a platform called ELM (Edinburgh access to Language Models), through which people can access Large Language Models.

University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow

Students and staff can access Copilot Chat through their uni Microsoft accounts. The University of Glasgow’s website says: “If you do choose to use GenAI to help you in your studies, then it is important to be aware that Copilot is the only tool approved for this by the University. We have security arrangements with Microsoft that will prevent UofG material becoming part of the global training dataset.

“It is the only tool you should use for uploading lecture materials, assessment briefs, slides, etc, and you must get permission from the staff member(s) who created them before you upload them.”

Imperial College London

Seven “futurists” are planning how students and staff will use AI. Students and staff now have a GenAI workspace called dAIsy where they can access Claude, Deepseek and ChatGPT at once. 

University of Leeds

Students are supposed to do a mandatory AI course online, and use Copilot through their University of Leeds accounts.

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London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

LSE students can use Microsoft Copilot Chat through their university accounts. They can also request access to Claude as part of the uni’s Claude for Education partnership.

The uni advises students: “For example, you might use Claude to work through a research question, break down a complex reading, or explore a concept you’re finding difficult. Copilot can help you summarise material, draft emails, or think through ideas via the Copilot Chat interface.”

University of Manchester

University of Manchester students can already use Copilot Chat, which will provide answers to questions or help plan revision by pulling material from the internet and from any files students upload.

 

 

 

 

 

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The uni is bringing Microsoft 365 Copilot to all students in the first semester of the 2027/2028 academic year. In the second semester of the 2026/2027 year, particular students and teaching staff will be testing out Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Newcastle University

This uni provides students and staff with Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat. The website says this software “can help with tasks such as drafting written content, developing presentations, and creating images”. Apparently, “the information you enter into Copilot is not used to train the AI model”.

University of Oxford

At the start of the 2025/2026 academic year, the university set up access to ChatGPT Edu for students. Students aren’t allowed to use AI for any work submitted for assessment unless they are specifically told so in writing.

University of Sheffield

The uni-approved generative AI tool is Google Gemini, which students and staff use their uni logins for. Sheffield‘s website says: “Where possible, Gemini should be used to support learning and teaching activities.”

University of York

This uni uses the Education version of Google Gemini. You sign in with your regular university email address. Specific departments can request to have the Pro version of Gemini.

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