null Using AI in Higher Education? How about doing it right!

Using AI in Higher Education? How about doing it right!

The appearance of generative AI leads to dramatic changes in the use of technology by educators and students. As GenAI tools rapidly reshape educational ecosystems, universities must ensure that their adoption is aligned with the principles of academic integrity, inclusion, transparency and institutional readiness. The ETHICAI project focuses on the development, application, and evaluation of an ethical framework for AI in education.

Focus on higher education

The ETHICAI project focuses specifically on higher education. It aims to develop a comprehensive, evidence-based framework of tools, policies, and practices to support the responsible, inclusive, and pedagogically effective use of GenAI in European universities. The ETHICAI approach is deeply practical and institutional, grounded in the needs of educators, students, and academic leaders, particularly in distance, open, and digitally mature universities, which often serve learners from rural, remote, and underserved communities.

The contribution of the Open Universiteit

Within ETHICAI the Open Universiteit is responsible for the development of the ethical framework. We will shape the core ethical values and norms that are necessary to support AI in education in ways beneficial to learners and educators while at the same time minimizing the ethical risks involved.

Learning Laboratories

Under coordination of the Hellenic Open University, ETHICAI brings together 11 partners from 8 European countries, including 7 higher education institutions, most of them open universities or providers of distance learning. This combination of project partners offers a unique opportunity for the large-scale pilot implementation of GenAI applications in real-life contexts and across diverse teaching models. The project seeks to implement GenAI-enhanced teaching and learning practices in authentic course settings through Learning Laboratories, which will be introduced to explore the pedagogical integration of GenAI. These laboratories will be established across all partner universities to test GenAI tools in educational environments.

End goal

The ethical framework will form the basis for the development of educational materials and will inform the internal strategies of the Open Universiteit on how to integrate GenAI into educational processes in a responsible and ethically sound manner.

About the project

ETHICAI (Advancing a Comprehensive Framework and Toolkit to Support the Ethical Use of Generative AI in Higher Education ) is funded by the Erasmus+ programme. The project is positioned at the ECO-Lab with prof. dr. Roland Klemke coordinating the activities of the Open Universiteit. This three-year project started in February 2026.