Researchers from the St. Petersburg Federal Research of RAS (SPC RAS) and the Sber Research and Development Center in St. Petersburg have developed a "smart" Telegram bot for applicants, students and teachers of eight leading universities in 10 regions of Russia. The application in the "single window" mode will allow the user to receive a variety of useful information faster and more accurately, say, conditions for admission and study, administrative issues, and even tips on organizing the student life. A search for information at the universities’ websites can be a real challenge for the users, whether they are employees, students or applicants. Navigation on such sites is often complicated because of an overloaded interface, a large amount of information, and a structure that is not always intuitive.
Users may face difficulties when looking for the right sections, such as study programs, admission requirements, contact information, scientific, sports or events, social support measures, and more. In addition, the lack of up-to-date data or complex formulations can be confusing and frustrating.
As a result, instead of quick finding the necessary information, users spend a lot of time at searching, what can lead to frustration and loss of interest in the information. This situation significantly reduces the effectiveness of the dialogue between the university and society, and may even affect the success of the university's strategic objectives. In order to solve this problem, researchers from SPC RAS and Sber have developed a special AI assistant.
"We had an intention to deliver a tool that would facilitate the process of interaction with universities for both students and staff. Our objective was to solve the problem of lengthy and complex information searches that often occur in educational institutions. AI assistant instantly responds to requests, saving users time and effort, helping them focus on their studies and work," says Maxim Abramov, Head of the Laboratory of Applied Artificial Intelligence at SPC RAS.
"AI-assistant for universities" finds the necessary information on the Internet resources of universities and instantly answers questions related to admission, educational process or administrative tasks and extracurricular activities. Information is searched through a written chat with a bot. Whose help is especially important during the admission campaign, the session or the adaptation of freshmen.
So, a smart telegram bot will help applicants to find the necessary information on admission, settling into a dormitory, future studies, scholarships, career prospects, and even what to do if they fail an exam or a test. The application will also be useful for university staff, for instance, to automatically search for documents and information on the announced meetings. The AI assistant will tell you how to get any reference information quickly or how to apply for a new position correctly.
According to Alexander Vedyakhin, First Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Sberbank, generative artificial intelligence will help applicants, students and university professors to save time, optimize routine tasks and mainly focus on ttraining and development. The GigaChat smart AI assistant will make information better accessible and will answer almost any user requests about the educational process. This is another step towards the digitalization of Russian education.
"AI assistant for universities" was developed based on GigaChat MAX - the most powerful and accurate neural network of Sber - in partnership with Russian universities. The neural network is openly available to companies of any scale through a cloud API. The bot already helps to navigate the websites of 18 universities in 10 regions of Russia (SPbSU, RANEPA, RSU SocTech, SPbPU, I. Kant Baltic Federal University, UlSTU, KubSAU, KSTU, etc.). Further it is planned to connect other Russian higher education institutions, including leading universities from all regions of Russia (like Moscow State University, ITMO, Far Eastern Federal University, Southwestern Federal University, Ural Federal University, Kazan Federal University, Kuban State University, and Novosibirsk State University). The project “AI Assistant for Universities” helps to develop the ecosystem of educational institutions, and also opens up opportunities for the university students from each university to prove themselves in real development.
Each interested individual can contribute to the adaptation of the AI assistant to the own university or take the initiative to connect the university to the project, gaining a unique experience when working with one of the most advanced neural network in Russia and developing the technological capabilities of the university.