IARU Initiatives > Institutional Collaborations > Artificial Intelligence Working Group
Artificial Intelligence Working Group
Examines AI’s impact on research, teaching, and operations through collaborative discussions across IARU institutions.
Background and Purpose
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping higher education worldwide, with profound implications for research, teaching and learning, institutional governance, and global knowledge production. For research-intensive universities, AI presents both transformative opportunities and significant risks, particularly in relation to ethics, equity, data governance, labour, and the deepening of digital divides between and within regions.
In recognition of the strategic importance of these developments, the IARU Presidents formally established the IARU Working Group on Artificial Intelligence in 2025, following deliberations at the IARU Presidents’ Meeting. The creation of the group reflects a shared understanding among IARU leadership that AI must be engaged not only as a technological advancement, but as a core strategic, educational, and societal issue requiring collective reflection and coordinated action across leading global universities.
The Working Group on AI is a newly constituted group, and will commence its substantive work and regular meetings in 2026. The establishment of this group also reflects IARU’s commitment to addressing AI through a lens of transformative education, ethical governance, and global equity, including the positioning of AI as a potential digital public good rather than a purely market-driven or extractive technology.
Purpose of the Group
The purpose of the IARU Working Group on AI is to provide a collaborative, cross-institutional space for member universities to collectively explore, shape, and influence how AI is understood and deployed in higher education, with particular attention to teaching, learning, research, and institutional practice.
As a newly established group entering its formative phase, the initial purpose is threefold:
The forum associated with the Working Group is intended to serve as an early convening mechanism, bringing together academic, professional, and leadership perspectives, to surface key questions, identify shared concerns, and lay the groundwork for future collaboration. Over time, the group aims to contribute to thought leadership, practical guidance, and collaborative initiatives that position IARU universities as globally responsible actors shaping AI in ways that are ethical, inclusive, and socially just.
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The members are (as of February 2022):
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IARU and its various initiatives and groups have several meetings and events throughout the year.
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