Universities are introducing artificial intelligence faster than you and are building institutional rules.

Universities in the partner countries of the European Union are introducing artificial intelligence in teaching and in other academic activities faster than they are developing institutional strategies for its use, according to the conclusions of the European program supporting experts in higher education reform. In 2025, the HERE/SPHERE network organized 48 technical assistance activities, involving 62 experts, in 17 partner countries.

In short, participants in SPHERE activities found that the use of artificial intelligence is still fragmented and often initiated by individual professors or departments, without coordination at the level of the entire university. The report does not yet identify a mature and generalized institutional model for integrating artificial intelligence in teaching, assessment, research, and administration. In 2025, the EU-funded network supported 48 technical assistance events in 17 partner countries, with the participation of 62 European and international experts. Digitalization and artificial intelligence, along with quality assurance and governance, were among the most frequently addressed areas in university reform activities. The program recommends moving from a reactive adoption of AI tools to institutional strategies that involve all disciplines, without decisions remaining solely the responsibility of IT departments.

The assessment regarding the use of artificial intelligence comes from activities organized within SPHERE, a program funded by the European Commission to support the network of Higher Education Reform Experts. The network includes specialists nominated by national authorities and Erasmus+ offices in the EU partner countries.

The first SPHERE seminar dedicated exclusively to artificial intelligence in higher education took place online in April 2025 and brought together over 104 public policy makers, university staff, practitioners, and students. Discussions analyzed how AI can be used in teaching and learning, the associated risks, and the opportunities through which universities and national systems can respond through policies and reforms.

One of the main conclusions was that the use of AI tools remains dispersed. Initiatives are frequently developed by teaching staff or individual departments, depending on their needs and experiences, without an applicable plan for the entire institution.

The report shows that there is still no mature, widely used model to coordinate the integration of AI in all activities of a university. This can produce different rules between faculties and even between courses, especially regarding the use of generative tools by students and professors.

The finding refers to the experiences and opinions discussed within the HERE network and does not represent a census of all universities in the partner countries. The documents do not specify how many institutions already have comprehensive strategies and how many operate without such frameworks.

Participants considered that artificial intelligence should not be treated solely as a technical issue. Its integration affects the design of study programs, teaching methods, student assessment, academic integrity, research, and the preparation of graduates for professions in which AI will be used more frequently.

For this reason, strategies should not be developed only by IT departments. The report recommends involving various academic disciplines, governance structures, faculty, and students in decisions regarding the use of technology.

Universities are presented both as users of artificial intelligence and as institutions that can influence its development in educational and ethical fields. The document recommends moving from a reactive adoption of available tools to a strategic role in determining how they are used and evaluated.

The report does not propose a single set of rules applicable to all institutions and does not establish which tools should be allowed or prohibited. Approaches must be adapted to national systems, university autonomy, and the types of programs and academic activities.

Artificial intelligence has become one of the more complex priorities of the national reform plans analyzed by HERE in 2025. Digitalization is no longer associated only with technical infrastructure and online courses, being extended to AI governance, ethics, digital administration, and management of university systems.

This change is identified in the plans of countries such as Armenia, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. In various forms, they seek to develop rules for the responsible use of artificial intelligence, adapt study programs, and use data and digital technologies in the governance of institutions.

The Republic of Moldova has established a ministerial working group that contributed to the development of recommendations regarding the ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence in university programs. Universities are expected to develop their own internal frameworks, and the Technical University of Moldova is indicated as one of the institutions that have already begun to work on a strategy.

In Kosovo, assistance activities addressed the integration of AI tools in higher education, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the effects of using artificial intelligence in teaching on the quality of education were analyzed. Jordan included new and emerging digital technologies among the themes of technical support.

These examples are part of the 48 technical assistance activities organized in 2025 in 17 partner countries. They brought together HERE teams, national authorities, universities, quality assurance agencies, and European experts.

The activities were not exclusively dedicated to artificial intelligence. The areas addressed included digitalization, quality assurance, governance, competencies and employability, micro-certifications, internationalization, sustainability, gender equality, curricular innovation, academic ethics, and the social role of universities.

The chart included in the report assigns seven activities to the categories of digitalization and AI, respectively quality assurance and governance. Another six focused primarily on competencies and employability, while approximately five were concentrated on sustainability and gender equality.

The classification is indicative, as some missions addressed multiple themes. For graphical representation, each activity was included in the category considered primary.

Technical support was provided through seminars, workshops, and consultations with experts. The objective was to exchange practices and adapt European experiences to ongoing reforms in each country, without the network adopting legislation itself or leading universities.

The impact report associated with the program shows that HERE members contributed in some states to ministerial working groups, draft laws, national strategies, and frameworks regarding qualifications, recognition of studies, and the quality of higher education.

In other situations, the outcome of the activities remained at the level of recommendations, staff training, and exchange of experiences. The effects vary depending on the role assigned to experts, the stage of reform, and the willingness of authorities and universities to apply the proposals.

The 48 activities do not represent 48 completed reforms nor 48 missions that automatically produced legislative changes. Some provided support for decisions in preparation, and their impact can only be assessed after the measures are applied at the national or institutional level.

In the field of AI, the next step will be to transform discussions about opportunities and risks into applicable rules. These may concern the use of generative tools by students, transparency regarding content produced with AI, assessment of works, protection of academic integrity, training of teaching staff, and inclusion of AI competencies in study programs.

The documents do not provide a common timeline for adopting these strategies nor uniform criteria by which their implementation should be evaluated. The SPHERE network believes that the subject should continue in future activities, based on concrete cases developed by universities and authorities.

HERE is a network of experts in policies and university practices nominated by national authorities and Erasmus+ offices in partner countries. Members contribute to the dialogue on reforms, provide consultancy, and facilitate cooperation between universities and public institutions.

SPHERE provides centralized support to the network through training activities, exchanges between experts, technical assistance missions, events, and thematic publications. The program is funded by the European Commission through the European Executive Agency for Education and Culture.

The targeted countries come from Central Asia, the Eastern Partnership, the southern Mediterranean, and the Western Balkans. The analyzed documents present the activities and evaluations of the program and specify that the opinions of the authors do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Commission.