ID246 AI as a strategic theme

The Idea

Artificial Intelligence should become a university-wide strategic theme for Keele, comparable in significance to sustainability or civic engagement - not a specialism located within a single institute, but a coordinated institutional response connecting teaching, research, innovation and external engagement under a shared vision. 

Keele already has real strengths here. KIITE, the Digital Society Institute, and interdisciplinary activity across schools and research institutes, including the Human-AI Interaction theme in Computer Science, represent genuine existing expertise. These currently operate largely within their own domains, but the risk of fragmented, siloed activity can lead to inconsistent adoption, a poor student experience and unclear institutional vision. The opportunity is to connect them under a named institutional lead, not by creating new structures, but by providing a centralised lead sitting at the intersection across education, research and technology, to lead institutional projects to develop AI capability, establishing the framework through which existing structures collaborate and speak with a coherent external voice. 

This is not just about adopting AI into curriculum design. It is about Keele becoming known as the university that takes AI seriously across the whole of its mission - what it means for people, communities, professions and public life. 

Keele's scale enables genuine cross-institutional integration. Its civic mission provides a natural anchor for questions about responsible application. This approach should be developed with staff, students and external partners. The conditions to make it credible already exist.

Why This Idea Should Be Considered

Every graduate entering the workforce will encounter AI. AI is a core graduate capability, not a bolt-on. Every discipline will need to consider its implications. Many universities are responding through isolated projects or specialist centres. Keele has the opportunity to do something more distinctive. Its existing strengths in Medicine, Sustainability, Business, Law, Education, Computer Science along with the emerging Creative Industries and Engineering portfolios map directly onto the domains where AI is generating the most significant social questions. This matters for graduate employability, research funding and Keele's external reputation, and internally for staff development and student experience - and speaks directly to Graduate Outcomes performance and TEF requirements for future-ready curricula. The goal is not to be a university that simply adopted AI, but to help develop the workforce of the future by collaborating with communities and professions to apply it responsibly, including through the Keele Deal to support local economic and social growth, with governance structures designed to flex as stakeholder needs and the technology itself continue to move quickly. 

How We Would Implement This Idea

Appoint a named institutional lead for AI in a strategic, university-wide executive role to co-ordinate with different areas of the university, academic and professional services to devise a Responsible AI strategy. Establish a cross-university AI governance group with representation from schools, professional services, students and external partners with an AI Lead in each school not just faculty to distribute delivery and keep the group responsive to fast-changing stakeholder needs. Begin with a phased approach: commit to AI literacy for all staff including a Responsible AI Fellowship programme, embed responsible AI within programme design supported by KIITE and QA, with AI integrated into new curricula to develop future-ready graduates - with a strong emphasis on co-creation, student engagement, and workforce readiness. 

Undertake a structured co-design exercise to identify where AI creates value, where risks require careful management and where it may not be appropriate. Ring-fence staff resource for AI capability development in the next budget cycle; collaborate with institutes to secure at least one significant external partnership with an employer, public sector body or research funder in year one.

What Success Would Look Like

Within 12 months staff AI literacy would have been completed institution-wide, with all new staff enrolled at point of joining. Every programme has reviewed its curriculum for AI literacy through existing QA review processes. Within two years all students encounter AI within their disciplines - and graduates able to use and critically evaluate it in professional contexts. Student and staff confidence in using and critically evaluating AI is tracked and rising year on year, and Graduate Outcomes and TEF-relevant metrics on 'future-ready' skills show measurable improvement. At least three research institutes or schools are collaborating on funded AI projects, and Keele has secured the external partnership committed to in year one.  

Keele’s strengths in Medicine, Sustainability, Education and the Creative Industries are enhanced through AI-enabled innovation.  Within five years, externally, Keele is recognised as a leading voice on the responsible, interdisciplinary application of AI and as a policy influencer. Longer term, Responsible AI becomes a defining feature of Keele’s identity, woven into its mission and culture.