Course can help you become AI literate

The North-West University (NWU) is moving with the technological times. The university’s AI Hub hosted its first-ever roadshow to introduce a new course for students promoting the ethical use of AI.

Prof Anné Verhoef, the director of the NWU Artificial Intelligence Hub, said, “The roadshow was hosted for students to inform them about AI and how fantastic it is, but also how problematic it can be if they use it wrong.

The roadshow serves as a reminder that the NWU encourages students to use AI responsibly and ethically.” The roadshow took place on 25 March 2025 across the university’s three campuses.

The NWU is one of the first universities in the country to be pro-AI, and to develop a student course, Verhoef said.

The AI Career and Academic Success Course is a two-hour self-paced workshop with no tuition fee. Students can find the course under the AI Career and Academic Success Course tab on eFundi, the university’s learning content management system. When students complete the course, they will receive a career plan and an official NWU certificate. Students will be able to put it in their curriculum vitae (CV) as proof that they completed training on how to use AI ethically and responsibly.

The course was launched at the beginning of the academic year, but students have been lax to complete it voluntarily, Verhoef said. “Only 4,258 students visited the site, and about 150 students completed the course [by 25 March]. And this is concerning.”

The course is also used as a remedial measure when suspected cases of academic dishonesty are reported, Yolande Stewart, the academic integrity officer at Academic Integrity for Teaching & Learning (AIITS), said.  She emphasised that AIITS is remedial, not punitive. AIITS works closely with the AI hub because AI has such a huge effect on academic integrity.

“The collaboration between the AI hub and AIITS reminds students that AI can be overwhelming but that there are ways the university wants to assist and support them by giving direction,” Stewart said, adding that many students use the technology unethically without even realising it.

Information about the use of AI at the NWU is available on the website  Artificial Intelligence (AI@NWU). There students can find different sources that can help them understand AI use and how to ethically incorporate AI in their daily activities.

Reuben Coetzer, a final year LLB student on the Potchefstroom campus attended the roadshow and said, “What’s exciting is that the university is not sleeping on AI, and they want to be the frontrunners. There are actual developments in the background, [which] is exciting and cool, and it’s something we have not seen before.”

Coetzer added: “I’ve learned that there are a lot of opportunities in a sense that we often speak about the academic implications of AI, but there are also a lot of opportunities … to explore, and it is really good.”

Stewart said her advice to students is to check if their lecturers allow the use of AI tools in assignments. “If so, it is important for them to declare the use of AI and the type of tools they use.”