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As universities face growing demands for personalised learning and support, AI offers the potential to transform the student experience. However, AI tools developed with insights about the student journey are essential to ensuring that the support they give is relevant. Speaking at the 2025 ɫ��ֱ�� Campus Live ANZ event, Mark Sampson, founder and CEO of Cenote Solutions, discussed the importance of adopting personalised AI tools. 

Large language models commonly used in higher education tend to provide generic – and sometimes inaccurate – responses. “We have to provide a better alternative,” Sampson said. Institutions need to integrate their culture, processes, policies and principles into their systems so that these are reflected in qualified, curated and appropriate responses. Central to this is a data-driven, student-centric approach. 

Cenote’s Student Pulse is an all-in-one platform that leverages data from existing systems to improve engagement, reduce attrition and personalise student support. Sampson said that Student Pulse’s AI feature incorporates details from student profiles and learning preferences. When combined with their academic journey and performance, this creates a system that can offer learners unit-specific advice. “When AI is talking to the student, the responses are completely contextualised and personalised,” he said.

If a student expresses concerns about failing certain units, the system aggregates data from student records, the learning management system, library management, accommodation and finance to give conversational support. This is refined based on the sentiment analysis feature embedded in the system, which switches to the best-equipped AI agent to assist the student.

Student success and engagement are shaped by broader aspects of the academic journey, not just factors related to teaching and learning. A personalised approach to support is important because understanding why and when students ask for help is key to retention, Sampson said. 

A student-centric system loaded with information also benefits staff. Currently, getting a complete picture of a student’s academic life can be time-consuming, difficult and disjointed, Sampson said. “We’re trying to get to the stage where accessing this information is as simple as possible.” 

The analytics dashboard on the Student Pulse platform can provide insights based on student data, predict risk and recommend support mechanisms for students. “What we do is support staff in academic spheres to get better information about the student they’re trying to support,” Sampson said. 

With all this information on the system, it’s important that AI has guardrails and fits into the institution’s AI policies. “AI is there to supplement, and it’s scalable, adaptable and flexible,” Sampson said. However, it’s crucial that the advice students receive from AI is useful, contextualised and personalised, he concluded.

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