Bristol University funds AI chatbot and inclusive assessment pilots as BILT backs 2025–26 projects
In a LinkedIn post, Marios Kremantzis, Senior Lecturer in Business Analytics at the University of Bristol Business School, says two Education Development projects have been approved for 2025–26.
The Business School sits within the University of Bristol; BILT (Bristol Institute for Learning and Teaching) funds education projects across the institution to improve teaching, assessment, and student experience. Kremantzis writes: “Exciting news from the Technology & Operations Academic Group at the University of Bristol Business School!”
He adds: “Two Education Development projects have been approved and funded by the Bristol Institute for Learning and Teaching (BILT) for 2025-26, advancing our priorities around inclusive, authentic, and digitally enabled learning.”
BILT funds curriculum and pedagogy pilots that departments trial and evaluate over the academic year. For 2025–26, the Business School projects flagged in the post focus on inclusive assessment design and AI-supported student services, with evaluation baked in to measure effects on engagement, confidence, and learning outcomes.
Business School: inclusive assessment and AI chatbots
Your Skills, Your Way: Inclusive Assessment for Future-Ready Graduates (lead: Fatima Lopez Castellanos) will give students structured choice in assessment while developing digital and transferable skills such as responsible GenAI use, cybersecurity awareness, data skills, and teamwork in hybrid settings. The design aligns with Bristol’s skills framework and aims to increase student agency and reduce assessment barriers for diverse cohorts.
Enhancing Teaching and Learning through AI Chatbots (lead: Marios Kremantzis with colleagues Aniekan Essien, Anthi Chondrogianni, Fatema Zaghloul, Hua Jin, and Sophie Lythreatis) will embed a pedagogically designed chatbot into selected Economics and Business units. Over one year, the team will evaluate impacts on teaching effectiveness, student confidence, and outcomes, treating the chatbot as a “digital teaching partner” for academic guidance and resource access.
Beyond the Business School: university projects examine AI, feedback, and inclusion
Several 2025–26 projects elsewhere at Bristol will probe how AI and design choices shape feedback, research literacy, and inclusion. AI-generated feedback for first-year programming (lead: Martin Garrad, with Cameron Hall) will compare AI-generated formative feedback with human teaching-support feedback for consistency, focus, and correctness, and will produce guidance on combining both at scale.
Research Paper Comprehension and Layperson Summary Writing Using AI (lead: Isabel Murillo, with David Morgan) will build a Microsoft Copilot-powered tool that lets biomedical undergraduates query a structured knowledge base of cited sources via an AI agent, then study whether this support improves comprehension and science-communication skills or fosters over-reliance.
Using AI to produce example lab reports for students to critically review (lead: Richard Pyle, with Aydin Nassehi and Joel Ross) extends a 2024/25 pilot. Students will interrogate AI-generated reports and feedback to build writing skills, AI literacy, and critical evaluation aligned to responsible use in engineering.
In communication-focused work, Co-created video-based formative assessment for communication skills (lead: Dave Gatrell, with David Morgan, Gayani Herath, Kirsty Brownlie, Simon Thornton, Susan Holt, and Trevor Thompson) refines a Mediasite-based model where students record simulated consultations, annotate reflections, and exchange peer feedback, testing scaffolding that supports deep reflection and professional communication.
Inclusion and assessment design under the microscope
A set of projects target systemic barriers in assessment. Evaluating student assessment experience (lead: Satadru Mukherjee) will surface inclusion blockers—staff workload, expectations, and unclear criteria—and co-create solutions with students to improve clarity and belonging.
Feedback Engagement Fellows (leads: Joe Gould and Sheila Amici-Dargan, co-run with Bristol SU) scales last year’s “Feedback Champions” pilot into school-level activity, building a culture of feedback engagement linked to the Bristol Skills Profile.
How can assessments be more inclusive to educate students more effectively? (lead: Oghale Ayetuoma, with Areti Chevale) centers international postgraduate “global learners” (notably from China, Africa, and India), triangulating student perceptions to propose assessment designs that better fit varied learning preferences and motivations.
Inclusive Assessment Design as a Tool to Break Language Barriers (lead: Elena Borodina, with Blagoy Vargolomov and Susanne Andersen) addresses linguistic hurdles for international students (often at CEFR B2), aiming to adapt formative and summative tasks so language demands don’t mask disciplinary competence.
Active learning, neurodiversity, climate and health, and industry links
Active Learning: Neurodiversity, Academia and Inclusion (lead: Hannah Parrot) co-designs research with neurominority students in Arts, Law, and Social Sciences, iterating methods with the Bristol University Neurodiversity Society to address out-of-class barriers using playful, inclusive approaches.
Climate change and human health: visual mapping game (leads: Andy Wakefield, Bronwen Burton, and Kiah Tasman) adapts a Climate-Fresk-style card game to connect climate mechanisms to neurological, respiratory, immune, infectious-disease, and mental-health impacts, with a path to curriculum integration.
Co-developing support for neurodiverse medical students (lead: David Rogers, with Andrew Blythe, Bethan Hawley, Jo Howarth, and Jo Hartland) focuses on practical adaptations in clinical placements to reduce burnout risk and improve accessibility, including feedback practices sensitive to conditions like ADHD and autism.
From Feedback Fatigue to Feedback Fluency (lead: Rose Murray, with Rebecca Pike and Reinart Jensema) evaluates the upgraded Assessment and Feedback Portfolio—assessment maps, skills resources, and a Feedback Engagement Tool—used during “Bridging Weeks” to grow assessment literacy and agency.
Industry-linked group mini-projects in chemistry (lead: Karen Parrish, with Anne Westcott and Lizzie Lawrence) pilots short, real-world projects with partners after the academic year for third-year MSci students, aiming to embed the activity into assessment in 2026–27.
The ETIH Innovation Awards 2026
The EdTech Innovation Hub Awards celebrate excellence in global education technology, with a particular focus on workforce development, AI integration, and innovative learning solutions across all stages of education.
Now open for entries, the ETIH Innovation Awards 2026 recognize the companies, platforms, and individuals driving transformation in the sector, from AI-driven assessment tools and personalized learning systems, to upskilling solutions and digital platforms that connect learners with real-world outcomes.
Submissions are open to organizations across the UK, the Americas, and internationally. Entries should highlight measurable impact, whether in K–12 classrooms, higher education institutions, or lifelong learning settings.
Winners will be announced on 14 January 2026 as part of an online showcase featuring expert commentary on emerging trends and standout innovation. All winners and finalists will also be featured in our first print magazine, to be distributed at BETT 2026.
