{"id":16314,"date":"2026-04-25T06:09:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T06:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/16314\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T06:09:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T06:09:10","slug":"microsoft-spotlights-uks-campuswide-approach-to-ai-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/16314\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft spotlights UK\u2019s campuswide approach to AI | State"},"content":{"rendered":"

LEXINGTON \u2014 As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes higher education, the University of Kentucky is taking a deliberate, people-centered approach \u2014 one that emphasizes access, responsibility and shared learning across campus.<\/p>\n

That work was recently featured by Microsoft in a national video spotlighting UK\u2019s use of Microsoft 365 Copilot and other AI tools<\/a>. The recognition reflects how UK is aligning technology with its land-grant mission \u2014 not just adopting new tools, but building a framework to help faculty, staff and students use them thoughtfully and effectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re hearing discussions about AI everywhere you turn,\u201d UK President Eli Capilouto said in the video. \u201cSometimes the state of Kentucky gets left behind in these technological advancements.\u201d<\/p>\n

For UK leaders, that reality underscored both an opportunity and a responsibility.<\/p>\n

Building a unified strategy for AI<\/p>\n

Rather than allowing AI use to grow in silos, UK established CATS AI<\/a> \u2014 the Commonwealth AI Transdisciplinary Strategy \u2014 to bring coordination and shared purpose to AI adoption. The initiative connects students, faculty and staff across disciplines, ensuring decisions about AI reflect academic values, ethical considerations and real-world needs.<\/p>\n

\"CATS<\/p>\n

Rather than allowing AI use to grow in silos, UK established CATS AI<\/a> \u2014 the Commonwealth AI Transdisciplinary Strategy \u2014 to bring coordination and shared purpose to AI adoption.<\/p>\n

Mark Cornelison\/UK<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw this as an opportunity to become one of the first AI universities for the state of Kentucky,\u201d said Ian McClure, vice president for innovation at UK HealthCare and associate vice president for research, innovation and economic impact at UK. \u201cThe Commonwealth AI Transdisciplinary Strategy is a framework to holistically support our entire community to responsibly adopt AI for good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Microsoft highlighted this coordinated framework as a key reason UK stands out nationally \u2014 noting that AI tools are paired with institutional leadership, not left to individual experimentation alone.<\/p>\n

Turning access into opportunity<\/p>\n

As part of its AI strategy, UK leverages Microsoft\u2019s enterprise tools, including Microsoft 365 Copilot, to provide broad access \u2014 scaling resources so students and employees across campus can benefit, regardless of discipline or role.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than 70,000 students and employees have access to Microsoft 365 Copilot,\u201d Capilouto said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s not going to stop there \u2014 it\u2019s going to touch every corner of Kentucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

But university leaders emphasize that access alone is not enough.<\/p>\n

To make AI approachable and understandable, UK launched the AI Literacy and Training Hub (ALT Hub)<\/a> as part of CATS AI. The hub focuses on practical learning \u2014 helping the campus community understand how AI works, where it adds value and how to use it responsibly.<\/p>\n

Several AI training sessions, both virtual and in-person, have happened\u00a0in April and will continue into May, with additional offerings planned throughout the summer. Topics range from introductory overviews to applied use cases relevant to teaching, administration and research. More sessions will continue to roll out as interest and campus needs evolve.<\/p>\n

AI in action across campus<\/p>\n

Across disciplines, students and faculty are already using AI tools in ways that would have been out of reach just a few years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are giving the students of Kentucky the opportunity to build things that typically would only be built in Silicon Valley or on the East Coast,\u201d said Tama Th\u00e9, M.D., assistant professor in the UK College of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine. \u201cThese are opportunities that I didn\u2019t have. Now, we have a sandbox where people are building software and learning new strategies to use artificial intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n

For medical students like Hunter Colson, that access is reshaping learning itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome tutoring companies charge $200 to $300 an hour to learn something complex like cardiology \u2014 that\u2019s just not realistic,\u201d Colso said. \u201cUsing tools like GitHub Copilot, we built a platform where you have a tutor in your pocket. You can interact with the material, ask questions and actually engage with the content.\u201d<\/p>\n

UK students are also using AI to create impact beyond the classroom. Chaelyn McGuire, a biomedical engineering sophomore, recently used AI tools to build a website supporting a philanthropic initiative for her sorority.<\/p>\n

\u201cI use AI every day,\u201d McGuire said. \u201cCopilot helped me code and launch a website from nothing. We doubled the amount of donations in half the time. I can use AI to do so much more in my community and for others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead<\/p>\n

As AI continues to evolve, UK leaders say the university\u2019s focus remains the same: ensuring innovation serves people \u2014 and advances learning, opportunity and service across the Commonwealth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impact we can have with artificial intelligence is profound,\u201d Th\u00e9 said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to come from the students we train here \u2014 and from how they take that knowledge back to their communities to shape the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more about CATS AI and explore upcoming AI training opportunities through the AI Literacy and Training Hub at catsai.uky.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LEXINGTON \u2014 As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes higher education, the University of Kentucky is taking a deliberate, people-centered…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16315,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[560,11918,25,420,7853,6800,11917,6798,416,76,11919,684,206,359,320,419,8172,7852,52,134,11920,3480,11916],"class_list":{"0":"post-16314","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-microsoft","8":"tag-ai-literacy","9":"tag-alt-hub","10":"tag-artificial-intelligence","11":"tag-azure","12":"tag-azure-copilot","13":"tag-branches-of-science","14":"tag-cats-ai","15":"tag-cognition","16":"tag-copilot","17":"tag-education","18":"tag-eli-capilouto","19":"tag-innovation","20":"tag-intelligence","21":"tag-medicine","22":"tag-microsoft","23":"tag-microsoft-365","24":"tag-microsoft-365-copilot","25":"tag-microsoft-copilot","26":"tag-research","27":"tag-technology","28":"tag-transdisciplinarity","29":"tag-united-kingdom","30":"tag-university-of-kentucky"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16314\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}