THE Artificial intelligence (AI) has long ceased to be a developing technology with potential, being today considered indispensable in multiple sectors.However, their adoption in the field of Education, based on making it available to students, teachers and researchers, It requires extra effort and care., which guarantee equal access and a safe and equitable framework.
It is in this context that the following emerges in Portugal: IAedu, the digital solution developed by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), through its FCCN digital services unit, and created in partnership with Microsoft Portugal.
Released in May 2025The initiative has a clear ambition: To democratize access to AI in Higher Education and Research by implementing large-scale language models. (LLM) — such as OpenAI GPT-4o, OpenAI o4-mini, and Mistral — within your reachThrough a single platformAccess is granted using federated authentication via users' institutional credentials, which allows... IAedu will break down technical and financial barriers and ensure that Portuguese academia explores the potential of AI in an equitable manner..
Customized Virtual Agents
THE creation of customized virtual agents, which come to perform specific functions according to the needs of each user or institution, is already a feature available to users. Reserved for Professor profiles.This option allows the institution to provide its students with, for example, a thematic assistant dedicated to a specific curricular unitTo that end, the professor It feeds this agent with its knowledge base, making it reliable and in line with its teaching methodology..
Currently in pilot phase, the IAedu already has first participating institutionswhich at this moment They test the solution and share their results. feedbackwith a view to preparation and improvement of the service for wider availability to Portuguese educational and research institutions.
An Invitation to Innovation in Teaching and Research
In developing this solution, one of central objectives from FCT/FCCN goes through to ensure its responsible and safe use, offering enhanced protection guarantees through centralized access.Furthermore, the User data is not used to train the models., preserving your privacy.
THE IAedu this contributes to building a regulated and reliable ecosystem for the use of Artificial Intelligenceoffering to Higher Education and Research in Portugal one Infrastructure designed to meet your needs..
In addition to being a significant milestone for the Portugal's positioning in the responsible and innovative adoption of this technology. in an academic context, the IAedu is an invitation to innovation.It is a an opportunity to innovate in the way we teach, research, and collaborate. Leaving no one behind.
