AI Study Buddy

Scalable, discipline aware AI study Support

 

Domain 3: Success

Purpose

To enhance student transition and learning in large first-year subjects by deploying discipline-specific AI study buddies that provide consistent, personalised support while strengthening academic teaching capacity.

Dr Christopher Moore

Academic Lead - AI Study Buddy

Contact:  renaissance-program@uow.edu.au

Project Overview

AI Study Buddy will scale high-quality, discipline-specific academic support for large first-year cohorts. Across 15 first-year subjects with large cohorts, teaching teams will design and deploy subject-specific AI Study Buddies in Cogniti, drawing solely on educator-approved materials to ensure disciplinary accuracy, pedagogical intent, and academic integrity. These agents will provide students with personalised, consistent, 24/7 academic assistance, helping to ease the pressures associated with teaching large cohorts.

Why this matters

First-year students often require timely clarification, reassurance, and structured guidance, but large cohorts make this difficult for academics to provide at scale. At the same time, students increasingly expect immediate and personalised support enabled by AI, while academics spend considerable time answering repetitive queries. AI Study Buddies will address both challenges by handling routine questions and surfacing real-time insights into student misunderstandings, enabling teaching teams to focus on higher-quality interactions and proactive intervention.

What the AI Study Buddy Project delivers

For students this project delivers:

• clear explanations of key concepts
• assessment scaffolding and transparent expectations
• tailored study and revision guidance
• timely, consistent support that builds confidence and supports progression

For academics this project delivers:

• fewer repetitive queries
• real-time insight into student difficulties
• evidence to inform teaching adjustments
• a safe environment to explore responsible, discipline-specific AI-enabled pedagogy

For the institution this project delivers:

• 15 fully operational AI Study Buddies
• a structured capability-building program with ongoing support
• a First-Year AI Teaching Community of Practice and shared repository of exemplars

How it works

Through an open selection process, each Faculty will nominate five large first-year subjects (15 in total) to participate in the project. Teaching teams of the selected subjects will receive structured Cogniti training delivered collaboratively by UOW Educational Excellence and Professor Danny Liu, University of Sydney, followed by ongoing pedagogical and technical support throughout the year. This training will inform and assist them in designing and deploying a subject-specific AI Study Buddy. These academics will also collaborate within a First-Year AI Teaching Community of Practice to share insights and build best-practice approaches. Each Study Buddy will be trained exclusively on educator-approved, discipline-specific materials and deployed across the selected first-year subjects to provide 24/7 personalised assistance and generate insights into emerging student needs.

Strategic outcome

AI Study Buddy will strengthen both student success and teaching efficiency in high-impact first-year subjects. By delivering scalable, pedagogically sound AI support aligned with disciplinary standards, UOW will enhance the quality, consistency, and responsiveness of the first-year learning experience.

Project timeline