Oxford University’s IT department pilots Microsoft Copilot

As part of a pilot roll-out, the IT service department at the University of Oxford has run a week-long survey on the use of Microsoft Copilot. 

The department has purchased licences for IT staff to assess the impact of using the Microsoft artificial intelligence (AI) technology across an entire department. As part of this, it recently ran a survey looking at the benefits of using Copilot for a range of activities, including summarising documents, creating content, supporting meetings and managing tasks.

Discussing the pilot roll-out across the IT department, Stuart Lee, acting CIO at Oxford University, said: “While it’s too early to assess the levels of adoption and usage feedback, we feel it’s vital to have regular checks on use as we look to any formal assessment of value for money. Slowly but surely, staff members are becoming increasingly familiar with Copilot AI to power their productivity, creativity and enjoyment at work.”

The introduction of new tools and IT functionality generally involves training, and this is especially important in enterprise business and desktop productivity software, where people need to understand how new functions can be applied in their work.

AI offers a way to automate tasks. While some people will see this as a way to do certain aspects of their work quicker, others may be reluctant to give it a go, particularly if they are happy with existing working practices.

According to Lee, when Copilot was first introduced in the IT department, many staff members were eager to get involved, but others were uncertain about how AI could be used.

The team encouraged an experimental and collaborative mindset to help build confidence among all potential users. Microsoft briefing sessions and regular community engagement run over Microsoft Teams were used to help users become more empowered to experiment with Copilot in their everyday roles.

What inspired us about Copilot was its potential benefits in the office of the now as well as in the office of the future. We came away [from the trip to Redmond] thinking this is something we really need to start investing in

The team set up an internal community where colleagues could share tips and ask questions, with a regular “prompt of the week” competition. Regular drop-in help clinics were also offered to help people work through their particular challenges. The department also set up an acceleration team to look at integrating Copilot with other applications and getting more from Copilot Studio.

Sarah Zama, the university’s head of user experience, said: “As a very small team with many different priorities, we’ve found Copilot’s time-saving features to be a huge help. It’s been invaluable in generating ideas and creating documents quickly, and we’ve discovered it can be very beneficial for neurodiverse users by helping them prioritise their workload and stay on-task.”

The university is working to embed generative AI across its operations, from research and teaching to administration. As part of this initiative, a team from Oxford visited Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond.

“What inspired us about Copilot was its potential benefits in the office of the now as well as in the office of the future. We came away thinking this is something we really need to start investing in,” Lee added.