Resources for Higher Education
AI and procurement resources for UK universities and colleges — covering academic integrity, research data, OfS regulation, JISC frameworks, and the unique governance demands of the sector.
UK higher education is one of the most AI-affected sectors in the country. Students arrive familiar with ChatGPT and similar tools, academic integrity policies are under sustained pressure, research teams are exploring AI for everything from literature reviews to lab automation, and professional services are weighing AI for marking, admissions, and student support. Each of these raises distinct governance questions.
Procurement at universities and colleges is equally distinctive. Most HEIs sit outside the Procurement Act 2023's central-government scope but buy through JISC, NEUPC, SUPC, HEPCW, NWUPC, and other regional university purchasing consortia. Research-grant funding adds its own procurement rules, and the Office for Students (OfS) regulatory regime sets expectations around governance, data, and student outcomes that intersect with technology adoption.
Public Skills Hub gives higher education staff plain-English resources tailored to this context. Our AI guides cover the policy and governance issues most relevant to universities and colleges; our procurement guides cover the frameworks and routes HEIs actually use; and our role pages include faculty, professional services, governance, and finance perspectives.
Start here
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Set your institutional AI position
Run the AI Readiness Checker across a representative sample of staff, then adopt and adapt the Workplace AI Policy template as your institutional baseline.
Start the readiness check - 2
Ground faculty in what AI tools actually do (and don't)
Faculty who understand where LLMs succeed and fail lead better academic-integrity conversations. Our AI Risks and AI Hallucinations guides give the conceptual grounding; refer to Advance HE and QAA for sector-specific academic-integrity frameworks.
Read the AI risks guide - 3
Get procurement right for AI tools
Use the Procurement Route Explainer with the contract value to identify the right buying route — typically through JISC, a regional consortium framework, or a competitive tender depending on value.
Use the tool
Guides for Higher Education
What Is Workplace AI?
A plain-English introduction to artificial intelligence tools in the workplace — what they do, how they work, and why organisations across the UK are starting to use them.
AI and UK GDPR: Practical Guidance
Practical guidance for entering workplace data into AI tools under UK GDPR. What you can and cannot do, how to assess risk, and how to document your approach.
AI Hallucinations Explained
What AI hallucinations are, why they happen, how to spot them, and practical steps to reduce their impact when using AI tools at work.
AI Risks Every Office Team Should Understand
A practical guide to the real risks of using AI tools at work — covering data privacy, inaccuracy, bias, and compliance — with guidance on how UK organisations can manage them sensibly.
Framework Agreements and Dynamic Purchasing Systems
Frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems explained — how they work, when buyers use them, and what suppliers need to know to get on them and win call-offs under the Procurement Act 2023.
Procurement Act 2023: What Changed
What the Procurement Act 2023 changed versus the old Public Contracts Regulations 2015, for both buyers and suppliers. Covers the Central Digital Platform, Competitive Flexible Procedure, new exclusion grounds, and Contract Performance Notices.
AI in HR and Recruitment
How HR teams are using AI for recruitment, performance management, and L&D — what works, where the legal and ethical risks sit, and what UK organisations need in place before rolling it out.
Microsoft Copilot: Setup and Governance for UK Workplaces
How Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 actually works, how to set it up safely in a UK organisation, and what governance it needs — covering licensing, data flows, and user training.
EU AI Act: What UK Organisations Need to Know
What the EU AI Act means for UK organisations that operate in the EU or supply EU customers. Updated for the 2 August 2026 high-risk system milestone.
Templates for Higher Education
Basic Workplace AI Policy
A straightforward AI policy template suitable for small to medium organisations adopting AI tools for the first time. Covers acceptable use, data handling, and staff responsibilities.
Staff AI Acceptable Use Policy
A detailed acceptable use policy for staff covering the dos and don'ts of AI tool usage, with sign-off section. Suitable for organisations that already have a broader AI strategy and need a staff-facing document.
AI Risk Assessment Starter Sheet
A structured risk assessment template for evaluating the risks of introducing a new AI tool or AI-assisted process. Covers data, accuracy, bias, security, and operational risks.
AI Vendor Due Diligence Questionnaire
A structured set of questions to ask an AI vendor before procurement. Covers data handling, security, accuracy, bias, compliance, and support.
AI Governance Meeting Template
A structured agenda and minutes template for an AI governance committee or working group. Covers standing agenda items, decision log, risk updates, and action tracking.
Tools for Higher Education
AI Readiness Checker
Answer a short set of questions about your team's current AI awareness, tool usage, and governance to get a personalised readiness score. Use the results to identify your biggest gaps and get a prioritised action plan.
AI Policy Generator
Answer a few questions about your organisation type, size, and AI use cases to generate a ready-to-use AI acceptable use policy draft. The output can be downloaded and edited to fit your specific needs.
Procurement Route Explainer
Enter your estimated contract value and type to get a plain-English explanation of which procurement route applies and what that means in practice. Understand the rules for direct award, competitive quotes, and formal tender processes without needing to read the regulations yourself.
Procurement Thresholds Calculator
Find out which Procurement Act 2023 route applies to your contract. Enter the value, contract type, and buyer category to get a plain-English answer with next steps.