EdgeCon Spring 2024 attendees enjoyed an exciting debut of the NJIT Digital Student Advisor prototype presented by Slalom and New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). With the timely discussion of how AI is transforming higher education, especially in New Jersey, the team felt it was a perfect opportunity to introduce their new AI tool to the Edge community. Stephen Walsh, Senior Director, Public & Social Impact, Slalom, and Ed Wozencroft, Chief Information Officer, VP for Digital Strategy, NJIT, led the EdgeCon breakout session and gave a glimpse into the future of student success and how this tool is designed to bring a human-centric approach to AI.
“EdgeCon is increasingly becoming a key place for higher education institutions to come together and learn about strategies and solutions that are making an impact for their peers. We’re always excited to see the innovative breakout sessions and inspiring connections that take place at the conference. The fact that NJIT and Slalom chose the Spring conference as the venue to debut a new student services tool powered by cutting-edge AI technology speaks to the importance of events like this, and we appreciate their collaboration and effort to make EdgeCon special.”
— Adam Scarzafava
Associate Vice President EdgeEvents & Digital Marketing, Edge
Digital Student Concierge
“NJIT’s Artificial Intelligence Initiative seeks to embed AI in all facets of our university—from teaching and learning; to research and innovation; our operations and infrastructure—all while remaining human-centered,” says Wozencraft. “Undoubtedly AI is here to stay, and higher education must adapt to succeed. With great partners like Slalom, we can quickly develop and deploy innovative tools and services that change the nature of education and improve the value proposition of investing in a now highly personalized higher education.”
Currently in the prototype phase, the NJIT Digital Student Advisor or “digital student concierge” is being referred to as Sophie. Sophie was built using Soul Machines technology, with chat capabilities provided by GPT 3.5, and hosted in Microsoft Azure. However, this can also be built on any cloud platform with a native LLM integration, like AWS or Google.
The scope of Sophie is to draw content from publicly available information for NJIT, as well as the University’s course catalog and student events. Sophie was programmed for one specific use case regarding a student interested in switching majors. The Q&A format was developed around typical questions a student may ask when changing majors or attending NJIT for the first time. These can include:
- Will course credits transfer?
- How many credits?
- Which courses will be carried over?
- Which courses will I now need to take for next semester?
- Are these courses available next semester?
- How will this impact my projected graduation date?
Sophie has the capability to pull this information in one central digital interaction with a student, but in a more humanized way. The conversation can be captured in text format and followed up by an email or text that includes helpful links to additional services and resources. The interaction with Sophie can establish an informative starting point for students and provides them with access to real human interactions with academic advisors, enrollment management, and administrators.
“NJIT’s Artificial Intelligence Initiative seeks to embed AI in all facets of our university — from teaching and learning; to research and innovation; our operations and infrastructure — all while remaining human-centered. Undoubtedly AI is here to stay, and higher education must adapt to succeed. With great partners like Slalom, we can quickly develop and deploy innovative tools and services that change the nature of education and improve the value proposition of investing in a now highly
personalized higher education.”
— Ed Wozencroft
Chief Information Officer, VP for Digital Strategy, NJIT
Assisting Students in their Academic Journey
Audience feedback at EdgeCon indicated a growing demand and interest for AI tools like Sophie. During conversations following the presentation, there were glowing reviews of the breakout session. “Hearing about the NJIT Digital Student Advisor was worth coming to the conference for the day, even if I hadn’t attended anything else,” said one attendee. Other feedback included, “The session really brought AI to life in a way that was both human and tangible for students and faculty,” and “We really enjoyed the demonstration and the questions from the crowd were thought provoking and engaging.”
While Sophie was designed as an augmentation service and AI tool to existing academic or general information, the possibilities are endless, including the capability to schedule appointments with academic advisors and for alumni to assist students in their academic journey. As more complex use cases develop, and that may require additional non-public detail, there will need to be an internal governance process established to involve stakeholders from across the University to consider important factors like compliance, privacy, data, and ethics.
“Launching the prototype for our digital student advisor Sophie in partnership with NJIT is just the beginning of a transformative journey for higher education in New Jersey. As we embark on a journey to humanize the future of AI, we’re not just shaping technology, we’re shaping the future of education itself, unlocking limitless possibilities for personalized learning and student success.”
— Steven Walsh
Senior Director, Public & Social Impact, Slalom
Next phases in the development of Sophie could draw upon the entirety of NJIT.edu, as well as specific use cases that would support students in their journey when accessing academic or social services. The overall purpose is to create and improve upon a digital humanizing experience for students and faculty—one that is both informative and supportive.
NJIT is currently in development discussions with Slalom to determine the next phases and potential release dates. “Launching the prototype for our digital student advisor Sophie in partnership with NJIT is just the beginning of a transformative journey for higher education in New Jersey,” says Walsh. “As we embark on a journey to humanize the future of AI, we’re not just shaping technology, we’re shaping the future of education itself, unlocking limitless possibilities for personalized learning and student success.”
