The adoption rate of generative AI in the education sector has become the highest of any industry. This is an unusual pace for an area that has historically lagged behind in technological adoption. This adoption, by students, researchers, and teachers alike, has been so rapid that we are witnessing a historic reinvention of education on a global scale.
In this context, teacher training and institutional preparation have become fundamental. Assessment methods need to be rethought, ensuring compliance with technological progress, and students need support in the simultaneous development of generative AI skills and critical thinking. Generative AI is now a structural component of economic growth, and learning to work with it, in any field of study, is no longer optional.
The rapid and highly competitive evolution of generative AI tools, coupled with their widespread adoption, has placed significant pressure on institutions to make these resources available to students and faculty. Most institutions lack the specialized resources needed to keep pace with market developments and integrate AI securely and effectively. Some are able to respond individually, but many are not. Data security and the risk of models being trained with sensitive institutional information have therefore become central concerns.
This challenge is not an isolated case. A global UNESCO survey of over 450 schools and universities concluded that fewer than 10% have formal policies or institutional guidelines for the use of generative AI. The gap between adoption and governance is both significant and urgent.
IAedu was created precisely to fill this gap, offering higher education and research institutions a secure environment where multiple AI models can be used, with the goal of democratizing access to these tools for all students and teachers. The platform, still in beta, already has 25,000 active users and more than 450,000 conversations. It is continuously updated to ensure the availability of the main models on the market, such as OpenAI's GPT and Anthropic's Claude. It also provides access to AMALIA, the large-scale language model (LLM) developed for European Portuguese.
Within the platform, instructors can create their own chatbots and make them available to students as study support. Several use cases already demonstrate the potential of case-based learning methodologies, with chatbots designed to accompany students throughout a specific curricular unit. For those who wish to go further, API access allows institutions and researchers to integrate these models directly into their own administrative tools and development projects.
With this access secured, IAedu's focus is now on strengthening security, optimizing performance, and developing new functionalities for institutions. The institutions have, in fact, played an active and fundamental role in this journey through their continuous feedback; it is through their perspective that we identify the real needs of higher education in Portugal. By aligning our development with these contributions, we ensure that our work serves the entire community.
IAedu is not a closed product, but rather a shared and constantly evolving initiative, built with a collective mindset for the benefit of all.
Text: Fábio Cosme, FCCN
Find out more at: iaedu.pt
