Aston University Leads £3.4M Project on AI Tools in Doctoral Research
The Artificial Intelligence Researcher Development Network Plus (AI.RDN+) has secured £3.4 million from the Research England Development Fund. This will support the establishment of the new network. Which will be hrough a partnership led by Aston University and the University of Leeds. This four-year project aims to examine the use of publicly available AI tools in PhD research and to develop responsible practice guides for their use. These include ChatGPT and Microsoft CoPilot.
The project is being led by Professor Phil Mizen from Aston University and Dr Hosam Al-Samarraie and Professor Arunangsu Chatterjee from the University of Leeds. They are supported by 20 partner universities across the Midlands Innovation and Yorkshire Universities consortiums. This makes this a wide collaboration to tackle the challenges of AI adoption in academia.
Aston University’s Role in Building AI.RDN+
The project recognises that AI tools have the potential to streamline processes, enhance PhD researcher workflow and innovation and cut workloads. But they are less clear on how researchers are integrating AI for their doctoral work. Undergraduate use has been widely discussed. But less is known about how students and researchers at the PhD-level, who are actively generating new knowledge and findings, use AI. Aston University has acknowledged the need to address this gap and provide guidance for doctoral researchers, supervisors and examiners for the responsible use of AI tools.
The AI.RDN+ project will consult widely with doctoral students, academic supervisors, examiners and professional services staff. Aston University and its project partners will use stakeholder feedback to develop a body of knowledge, training materials, and best practice studies. They will share these resources through a dedicated online platform.
Aston University Driving Responsible AI Adoption
AI.RDN+ specialises in creating useful resources for all those studying at doctoral level. Aston University will have a key role to play in co-developing the training modules, toolkits and capacity building resources. These resources will help researchers know what AI can and cannot do in more advanced academic work.
The initiative will also seek to bring greater clarity to questions of ethics, transparency and sustainability in AI deployment. The institution believes it’s crucial that doctoral researchers—and those who guide them—know how to balance the benefits of AI with its downsides. Especially as doctoral researchers are often at the forefront of new areas of discovery.
Broader Expertise and Partnerships
Aston University already has established digital research, enterprise and AI-led innovation capabilities. These provide a strong foundation for this initiative. The Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Application, and its Department of Computer Science, has valuable AI experience to offer to AI.RDN+. With Professor Mizen, the project also includes Aston’s Dr Frances Thirlway and Professor Aniko Ekhart. And also support from Midlands Innovation’s Dr Helen Turner.
AI.RDN+ is also supported by Jisc, UK Council for Graduate Education, Vitae and National Centre for Universities and Business+. These partnerships, along with the support from other Research England-funded initiatives such as RSVP and Prosper, evidence the network’s reach and scope for sustained influence.
Aims for Lasting Impact in AI Research
The potential influence of AI.RDN+ extends beyond the UK. Aston University and its partners are setting the foundation for international best practice in AI use in doctoral education. This is through the development of a hub of resources. And the embedding of responsible AI training within their training programs. The move is intended to bolster the research environment. And to also spur up-and-coming PhD students to grapple with the challenges of AI, and inspire trust in the use of AI.
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