Purdue computer science professors Aniket Bera and Ahmed Quresh study virtual therapy, autonomous vehicles and rescue robots, like this robot dog, in their work at the intersection of AI and human emotions and behavior. (Photo by Purdue University/Rebecca Robiños)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University on Friday (Dec. 12), unveiled a broad AI@Purdue strategy across five functional areas: Learning with AI, AI Learning, AI Research, AI Use, and AI Partnering.
A key element of the overall plan emerged when Board of Directors approved a plan, the first of its kind in the country, to introduce a “professional competency in AI” graduation requirement for all undergraduates on the main campus (Indianapolis and West Lafayette).
“The scale and pace of AI’s impact on society, including across many dimensions of higher education, means that at Purdue we must lean forward and do so across different functions of the university,” said Purdue President Mung Chiang. “The AI@Purdue strategic actions are part of the Purdue Computes strategic initiative and will continue to be updated to advance the missions and impact of our university.”
Learn more about AI
Today and in the future, Purdue students will need to possess the critical thinking skills required to understand, evaluate and effectively use AI technologies and keep pace with their future changes, all in line with the evolving needs of the workforce and employers. To this end, the Trustees have delegated authority to the Dean, in collaboration with the Deans of all academic colleges, to develop, review, and continually update discipline-specific competency criteria and standards for a new campus-wide “Professional Competency in Artificial Intelligence” graduation requirement for all students on Purdue’s main campus, beginning with new starters in fall 2026. Some of the underlying resources and educational innovations will also be made available starting next semester for currently enrolled students.
Building on the colleges’ recently launched AI majors, minors, and certificates, and following the creation of a task force last summer, with additional in-depth deliberations and guidance from the University Senate through its Undergraduate Curriculum Council, the goal of this requirement will be to ensure that, from exposure and awareness to skill development and problem-solving mastery, Purdue students possess skills ready-to-use and critical thinking skills for:
- Understand and effectively use the latest AI tools in your chosen field(s)including identifying the key capabilities, strengths and limitations of AI technologies, as well as the ways in which AI can transform existing methods, processes and tools
- Recognize and communicate clearly about AI use, decisions and limitationsincluding developing and defending decisions informed by AI-driven insights, as well as recognizing the presence, influence and consequences of AI in decision-making
- Adapt and work with future AI developments effectively and continuously
“We are extremely excited to work with our faculty colleagues across the University to bring this critical new requirement to life,” said Purdue Provost Patrick Wolfe. “At the same time, it is absolutely imperative that a requirement like this is well-informed by ongoing input from industry partners and employers at large. For this reason, I have also requested that each of our academic colleges establish a permanent industry advisory council focused on employer AI skills needs and that these councils be used to help ensure ongoing, annual refreshes of our AI curriculum and requirements to ensure that we continually keep our AI-specific criteria up to date. discipline.”
Learn with AI
Based on contributions and consultations from many people, guidelines on the use of generative AI in teaching and learning were published in January 2024. Since then, the sector has evolved at a rapid pace. The Office of the Provost and the University Senate have partnered to update these guidelines and plan to release the update near the end of the current academic year.
Search AI
AI@Purdue will advance research, using AI to accelerate innovation, including Purdue Institute for Physical AI (IPAI) at the interface where the bytes of AI meet the atoms of what we grow, what we make, and what we move:
Use AI
Actions designed to equip faculty and staff with AI resources to improve efficiency and productivity include the following examples and more:
- Adopting Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Early use phase by researchers completed for Gautschi supercomputer
- Deployment of GenAI Studio, a service that makes open source models such as large language models accessible to researchers
- Reworked academic AI website
- Implementing robots to automate procurement services
- Strengthen cybersecurity through partnership with Rapid7, helping identify, prioritize and remediate security vulnerabilities quickly and efficiently
AI tools are also being implemented to place Purdue at the forefront of academic advising (Listening Companions, Chatbots and AI Supports Major Changes).
AI partnership
The increased emphasis on AI@Purdue in the classroom combines with an increased emphasis on public-private partnerships, harnessing the transformative impact of education and research:
- Purdue and Google announced their plans strengthen their education and research ties to prepare the next generation of AI leaders while advancing the technology
- A high-level collaboration with Apple led to the launch of the first Space Computing Center on the Purdue campus
- A joint venture between the Scalable Asymmetric Lifecycle Engagement and SCALE K-12 university programs and the Arm high-performance computing platform has been signed for launch. Arm EducateAI Coalitionwhich will prepare the country’s youth for technological careers
AI@Purdue Landing Page
Purdue Brand Studio, the university’s central marketing and communications unit, partnered with major campus units to create a Complete AI web experience which includes:
- Options for learning, researching, and collaborating with AI
- IT governance and data security
- AI facilities and labs, toolkits and guidance
- An AI textbook for Gen Z and Gen Alpha students
- Latest news and stories from Purdue focused on AI
About Purdue University
Purdue University is a public research university leading in large-scale excellence. Ranked among the top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with unparalleled quality and scale. More than 106,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 57,000 on our main campuses in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 14 years in a row. Learn how Purdue never stops in its persistent pursuit of the next giant leap, including its integrated and comprehensive urban expansion of Indianapolis; the Mitch Daniels School of Business; Purdue calculates; and the One Health initiative — to https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.