This blog post from SRUC’s Digital Learning Team sets out the thinking behind the new 'AI Compass', a student resource designed to give a grounded view of what AI is, where it might help, and where the limits and concerns sit, including environmental and ethical points students have often raised. SRUC doesn't want to push you to use AI, but wants to ensure you’ve got enough of a handle on it to make your own call on using it within your studies.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming more visible in education and the workplace—but we recognise that students have a wide range of views about it.
Some of you are curious about how it works, while others have raised valid concerns—particularly around environmental impact, ethics, and whether AI should be used at all within land-based subjects.
At SRUC, we want to support you in understanding these issues clearly. That’s why we’re developing the SRUC AI Compass.
The AI Compass is a new student resource designed to help you:
- Understand what AI is and how it works in practice
- Explore both the opportunities and the limitations of AI
- Consider environmental and ethical impacts
- Recognise the importance of academic integrity
- Understand that guidance on AI use may vary across courses and assessments
This resource is not about telling you to use AI. Instead, it provides clear, balanced information so you can better understand the role of AI in education and make informed decisions within the guidance provided by your lecturers.
The AI Compass will be available through Moodle at the start of the next academic year, giving you access to interactive activities, real examples, and student-informed content right from the beginning of your studies.
We’re also working with students across SRUC to help shape this resource, ensuring it reflects real perspectives from our land-based courses.
We’ll share more updates soon, including ways you can get involved.
The SRUC AI Compass is here to help you understand AI—so you can approach it with clarity, confidence, and awareness.