Introducing Scout: UNSW's new AI-driven chatbot for students

25 Oct 2024
Campus Life
Edition 20 2024
Scout

UNSW is exploring the potential of Scout, an experimental, AI-powered chatbot designed to transform the student experience at the University.

Scout serves as a single point-of-contact that provides quick and reliable answers to a wide range of enquiries related to student life, learning and wellbeing. 

Currently being piloted in T3 2024 across several courses in the Arts, Design & Architecture, Engineering and Science faculties, Scout aims to address common pain points for students. 

Facilitating a richer student experience 

Scout can assist with many aspects of a student’s daily life. Drawing on trusted UNSW data sources, the technology can offer guidance on general enquiries about UNSW, support services, events and activities, as well as advice on where to go for financial or health concerns.  

By addressing these significant aspects of the student experience, Scout aims to free up time for students to focus on their learning journey and personal wellbeing.

Benefits for students 

As a student’s go-to source for everyday support, Scout offers: 

  • instant answers, so students may quickly get information on UNSW services, course information, administrative processes and deadlines 
  • tailored responses based on student context, ensuring the most relevant information is provided 
  • 24/7 availability, accessible through Moodle 
  • multilingual capabilities, ensuring information is accessible to UNSW’s diverse student community.   

Benefits for staff

Scout also has the potential to provide significant advantages for UNSW staff, including: 

  • reduced workload by handling routine and repetitive enquiries, freeing staff to focus on more complex and personalised student needs 
  • streamlined communication through integration with UNSW’s websites and systems, so students can receive accurate information without needing to contact multiple departments 
  • improved efficiency by managing common administrative tasks, so staff can dedicate more time to teaching, research and being the human touchpoint for students needing personalised support.

Looking ahead 

Although still in the early experimental stage, Scout has the potential to become a foundational part of the future of AI at UNSW, advancing workstreams 1, 3 and 8 of UNSW’s Education Technology Roadmap 2024–2028.

Getting involved

Your feedback and insights are invaluable in shaping these tools to best meet the needs of our staff and students. If you are interested in collaborating or getting involved in the pilot phase of these AI innovations, please: 

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