University of Cincinnati

10/31/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/31/2025 10:43

Bearcat AI Ready! initiatives to accelerate digital transformation at UC

Bearcat AI Ready! initiatives to accelerate digital transformation at UC

By Emily Baute Email EmilyEmail Emily
6 minute read October 31, 2025 Share on facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on Reddit Print StoryLike

The University of Cincinnati is accelerating its digital transformation with a suite of AI initiatives spanning academics, research and operations.

Known collectively as Bearcat AI Ready!, these initiatives empower students, faculty and staff to confidently use, build and govern artificial intelligence solutions across academic, research and operational areas of the institution.

"Our goal is to transform UC from 'AI-fluent' to truly 'AI-ready,'" said UC Vice President & Chief Digital Officer Bharath Prabhakaran. "Our Bearcat AI Ready! initiatives support responsible, innovative AI adoption across the institution that will help accelerate UC's efforts to enhance student success and streamline university processes."

Bearcat AI Ready! initiatives underway at UC

The university's AI Enablement Community of Practice partners with UC Digital Technology Solutions (DTS) to lead AI enablement, drive operational excellence, collaborate across disciplines, and ensure responsible, scalable adoption of AI throughout the institution.

"Bearcat AI Ready! is about empowerment - giving every Bearcat the confidence and capability to use, build and shape AI responsibly," said Assistant Vice President for Integrated Data Engineering & Application Solutions Josette Riep. "Our vision is to not just prepare for the future, but to lead it together."

The following updates and expanded capabilities are on the horizon as UC continues its journey to become an AI-ready institution.

New AI website

The new AI at UC website serves as a centralized resource hub designed to support the university's growing AI ecosystem.

It features dedicated sections for each of the AI Enablement Community of Practice committees alongside a Responsible AI area for governance resources.

The new AI at UC website will feature "AI Champions" across the university, such as Dr. Kelly Cohen, Brian H. Rowe Endowed Chair in aerospace engineering, UC College of Engineering and Applied Science.

The site also offers curated content for students, faculty and staff, including an AI Guide, training opportunities, a prompt library and tools such as Bearcat GPT, Microsoft Copilot, Adobe Firefly and more.

You'll also find live news and events updates, showcases of ongoing Bearcat AI Ready! initiatives and pathways for engagement such as tool suggestions and AI questions.

Tier 1 AI Fluency Training Now Available

As the first phase of UC's four-tier Bearcat AI Ready Fluency Framework, Tier 1 training - AI Essentials - is now live.

This self-paced, on-demand module introduces every Bearcat to core AI concepts, responsible use practices, and the university's available tools, including BearcatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Adobe Firefly.

Future tiers will build on this foundation through:

  • Tier 2: Applied AI workshops with Microsoft and partners
  • Tier 3: Deep dives into Responsible AI and Ethical Decision-Making
  • Tier 4: Technical certifications, labs, and sprint weeks
Our goal is to transform UC from 'AI-fluent' to truly 'AI-ready.'

Bharath Prabhakaran UC Vice President & Chief Digital Officer

BearcatGPT: From pilot to enterprise

An example of an AI-generated image of the UC Bearcat mascot in an AI Ready t-shirt.

BearcatGPT began as a Microsoft Azure OpenAI pilot, providing UC with a private, secure environment to explore generative AI for teaching, learning, research and administrative innovation. The pilot phase offered hands-on experience with advanced models such as GPT-4.x and GPT-5, along with DALL-E for text-to-image generation, supporting a wide range of creative and academic applications.

As the tool advances from pilot to enterprise in the coming weeks, all UC students, faculty and staff will soon have access to BearcatGPT at BearcatGPT.uc.edu as it evolves to become UC's AI gateway hosted securely within the university's Azure environment. The enhanced platform will introduce governed API capabilities for integrating with approved university systems and enable access to a range of trusted AI models to support a variety academic and operational needs.

Built on UC's principles of responsible and secure AI adoption, BearcatGPT combines innovation with oversight, ensuring that new capabilities align with institutional data governance and privacy standards. As part of this expansion, DTS will roll out custom and departmental GPT agents, empowering colleges and units to create tailored AI assistants within a controlled, self-service framework.

AI-driven Socratic Tutors

Dr. Valentine Johns, assoc dir academic, UC Clermont College Learning Commons

One of UC's flagship AI initiatives is the rollout of AI-driven Socratic Tutors.

These tutors use the Socratic method - posing structured, thought-provoking questions - to foster critical thinking and encourage students to explore multiple perspectives. Unlike traditional tutoring systems that provide direct answers, Socratic Tutors guide students through problem-solving, reflection and self-regulated learning.

A mid-November launch, co-led by Dr. Valentine Johns and DTS, will include 10 high-impact math and statistics courses. The tutors will deliver on-demand, personalized academic assistance through BearcatGPT, reinforcing foundational skills and establishing a framework for broader academic integration.

Additional use cases

DTS is also working on several other key AI-powered uses cases including:

  • Undergraduate and graduate credential certification in partnership with Enrollment Management.
  • Synthesizing student feedback from multiple sources in partnership with the College of Engineering & Applied Science.
  • Accounts payable invoice processing in partnership with with Administration & Finance.

DTS will continue to evaluate and assess additional tools and platforms to add to the suite of AI tools available to UC students, faculty and staff.

For more information about AI at UC, visit ai.uc.edu.

Tags

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Faculty Staff
  • Clermont College
  • Digital Technology Solutions
  • Student Experience
  • Next Lives Here
  • Science & Tech

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University of Cincinnati published this content on October 31, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on October 31, 2025 at 16:43 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]