Generative AI in Higher Education Teaching and Learning – Sectoral Perspectives

Posted: 17 September, 2025

Strategic coordination is urgently needed in the area of Generative AI in Higher Education to prevent capacity fragmentation, a new report into the area has warned.

The report – Generative AI in Higher Education Teaching and Learning: Sectoral Perspectives – was commissioned as part of the Higher Education Authority’s evidence-led approach to policy development.

The report captures the views of staff, students, and leaders across the Irish higher education system on the opportunities and challenges posed by artificial intelligence.

It brings together insights from ten thematic focus groups and a leadership summit, involving over 80 participants from across Ireland’s higher education institutions, alongside student representatives and sectoral stakeholders.

The report revealed that:

• The sector is moving rapidly but unevenly and to prevent capacity fragmentation, a coordinated national approach is needed.
• The educational purpose of AI should be re-examined as it challenges fundamental values of authorship, assessment, and academic integrity.
• Inclusion and equity must be embedded to ensure AI supports, rather than undermines, accessibility.
• Assessment practices should evolve towards authentic, process-based models that reflect AI realities.
• Staff and students need structured support, professional development, and partnership opportunities.
• Governance and infrastructure should extend beyond tools to ethical frameworks, procurement guidance and institutional readiness.
• Leadership should shape the AI transition through vision, values and national coherence.

The findings of this report will directly inform the HEA’s forthcoming national policy framework on generative AI, due later this year. This will provide clear, values-led guidance to ensure Irish higher education is well positioned to navigate the age of AI with integrity and coherence.

HEA CEO, Dr Alan Wall said Generative AI is already shaping how students learn, how staff teach, and how institutions plan for the future.

“This consultation shows that the sector is ready to engage thoughtfully with these changes, but it also highlights the need for coordinated national support. The HEA will continue to ensure that our response is values-led, evidence-informed and aligned with Ireland’s wider AI strategy.”

Brian Marrinan of Journey Partners said through this consultation, the voices of staff, students and leaders across the system were heard directly.

“What came through clearly was a strong appetite for dialogue, experimentation, and shared guidance. This report provides a grounded picture of where the sector stands today, and it will help inform both national policy and institutional practice in the years ahead.”

HEA Policy Advisor on GenAI, Dr James O’Sullivan said the findings show that generative AI is not just a technological issue, it is a pedagogical, ethical, and strategic one.

“Staff and students alike are already engaging with gen AI, most notably, large language models like ChatGPT, and many of them want support to do so responsibly, weighing ethical and disciplinary sensitivities with the affordances of generative tools. Our next step is to build on this consultation and develop a coherent national framework that balances the realities of the present moment with academic integrity.”

You can read the report the Generative AI in Higher Education Teaching and Learning: Sectoral Perspectives on our website.

NOTES:

• The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment’s AI – Here for Good: National AI Strategy Refresh (2024) sets out Ireland’s people-centred and ethical approach to AI development, adoption and use.
• The AI Advisory Council, established under this strategy, provides independent expert advice to Government on the opportunities and challenges of AI.
• The EU Artificial Intelligence Act (2024) creates a harmonised regulatory framework for AI across the EU, ensuring safety, fundamental rights, and trustworthy adoption.
• The HEA’s work on generative AI in higher education complements national and European initiatives, ensuring that Ireland’s response in the higher education sector is coherent, values-led, and internationally aligned.
• The HEA has established a dedicated AI Resource Portal, providing centralised access to guidelines and open educational resources for teaching and learning in Gen AI-mediated contexts (https://hub.teachingandlearning.ie/genai/).