Usage guidelines
EPFL recognizes the huge potential of the many generative Artificial Intelligence tools capable of generating synthetic media such as text or images. Like any tool, they have their advantages, but we need to be aware of their limitations and the major risks they present. We encourage the use of generative AI across our range of activities in an informed, responsible and transparent manner. Our recommendations concerning the use of AI in education are currently being revised.
An early version of our guidelines is available here.
A key principle: always remember to remain critical when using these tools.
Student and Teacher Surveys
In 2024, two surveys were conducted at EPFL to learn more about the use of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) software in education and studies. Among teachers, 61.5% of respondents use GAI, compared to 79% among students.
While GAI is appreciated, there is also a need to strengthen skills to use it more efficiently in an educational context. Teachers need support in the formulation of instructions for students as well as information and examples on how to use AI tools for supporting student learning and how to use AI tools securely.
Read the related news article (public) and access the survey reports for the students survey and for the teachers survey (EPFL members only)
Workshop: Hands-on generative AI for Education
In this workshop you will discover two use-cases for generative AI in education: providing feedback and enriching pedagogical content. Each use case is approached through hands-on activities with existing tools (Microsoft Copilot and tools developed by CEDE). We then follow-up with a reflection on the legal, ethical and technical aspects linked to the use of generative AI in education.
Sign up for March 19th 2025 from 13:00 to 16:00
Teaching guide
- AI Tools and Student Assessment.
- Providing feedback with generative AI (under development)
- Making content accessible with generative AI (under development)
Get involved
- The DRIL fund (Digital Resourses for Instruction and Learning) can financially support you in developing pedagogical resources and innovative applications for your course. Projects could include: generating quizzes and hints for exercises, help in providing feedback in discussion forums, recommending relevant resources for a topic, etc.
- The EPFL AI Center is coordinating the schools’ educational offer and research for the use of AI in education.
Research on AI & Education in EPFL
- Could ChatGPT get an engineering degree ? A paper in PNAS published by EPFL researchers from the School of Computer and Communication Sciences.
- Engineering ethics education and artificial intelligence. Chapter 7 of the The Routledge International Handbook of Engineering Ethics Education.
- A visual tool for assessing ethical risks. Use this canvas to evaluate the risk/benefits of using generative AI tools in your teaching.
How EPFL teachers are Using AI in Teaching
lunch&LEARN sessions portray projects from the community and their respective teaching and learning experiences. Here we feature the sessions that were specifically about AI & Education.
If you also have experience with AI in your teaching that you’d like to share, get in touch with the Center LEARN
AI Unmasked: How Transparency Shapes Student Trust in AI Feedback
Presenter: Tatjana Nazaretsky
Exploring the Impact of ChatGPT in Robotics Courses: Does It Really Help Students to Learn?
Presenter: Jérome Brender
EPFL Chatbot
AI powered chatbot and semantic search of EPFL’s academic content. Ask it to help you solve and exercise and it will suggest relevant video lectures and relatred excercises.
Contacts
Contact us if your want to know more about how to integrate generative AI in your teaching, get an update about current developments and tools or if you would like to run a study to evaluate a specific innovation.
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