Responsible AI in Action: How Coleg y Cymoedd and LearnWise AI Are Redefining AI in Higher Education

A New Model for AI Collaboration in Welsh Education

In Wales, further and higher education institutions are increasingly focused on how artificial intelligence can serve, not replace, teaching and learning. Few partnerships capture that vision better than the collaboration between Coleg y Cymoedd and LearnWise AI.

Together, the two organisations are exploring how AI can be embedded responsibly within Microsoft Teams to support teachers and learners alike. Rather than a vendor–client relationship, the project represents something broader: a shared commitment to co-creation, community, and the future of digital learning in Wales.

Coleg y Cymoedd: A Welsh Leader in AI-Supported Learning

Coleg y Cymoedd is one of Wales’s largest further-education colleges, spanning four campuses across the valleys region and serving over 10,000 learners. Its provision covers a diverse range of vocational and academic programmes - from engineering and construction to media, catering, and A levels - alongside apprenticeships and work-based learning.

The college’s focus is deeply practical, centred on preparing students for real-world careers and developing critical, procedural, and communication skills across disciplines. Over recent years, its technology-enhanced learning team has become a leading voice in Wales’s education technology community, contributing to the national dialogue around the ethical, equitable use of AI in classrooms.

From AI Experimentation to Scalable Adoption in Further Education

Like many further-education institutions, Coleg y Cymoedd began its AI journey through experimentation, testing various tools, exploring use cases, and understanding where AI could genuinely enhance teaching and administration. These early pilots were crucial in building confidence and internal expertise, leading the college to shift from short-term exploration to a structured, sustainable strategy for long-term AI adoption.

Today, its digital and AI strategy is focused on embedding good practice across departments, ensuring technology enhances pedagogy rather than distracts from it. The partnership with LearnWise AI complements this mission, helping the college move beyond isolated pilots toward scalable, evidence-based innovation that can evolve with its institutional goals.

The Challenge in Education: Creating Safe AI for Teaching and Learning

Before working with LearnWise AI, the college faced a familiar challenge: existing AI tools often felt disconnected from the reality of teaching. Many systems were designed for general business or administrative use, offering little flexibility for educators to adapt them to classroom needs. Others imposed rigid parameters determined by large technology vendors, leaving little room for experimentation or pedagogical input.

The result was a growing sense of frustration across the sector; a need for solutions that respond to the way teachers and students actually work. Coleg y Cymoedd sought a more collaborative approach: an AI solution co-developed with educators, adaptable to their needs, and capable of supporting the full cycle of teaching, learning, and assessment. LearnWise AI’s partnership model and education-first design philosophy provided exactly that.

Integrating AI into Microsoft Teams: Meet Sidekick

The collaboration focuses on creating a custom AI learning assistant within Microsoft Teams, the college’s main digital teaching environment. Rather than introducing a separate system, the goal is to bring AI directly into the space where teachers and students already interact.

The first phase of the project connects the AI assistant to the college’s internal resources, enabling context-specific responses to learner queries. The next phase focuses on developing intelligent conversational behaviours that actively guide students toward deeper understanding. Instead of simply providing answers, the AI aims to model effective questioning, support critical thinking, and promote better communication and vocabulary development.

This design reflects LearnWise AI’s commitment to “AI that supports learning, not shortcuts it.” It’s a human-centred approach that aligns with Cymoedd’s teaching philosophy - using technology to enhance the learning process while keeping educators in control.

The Sidekick project with Coleg y Cymoedd officially launched as a pilot in early December. Stay tuned for a follow-up article in the Spring of 2026 with our initial pilot results.

Choosing the Right AI Partner for Education

When considering AI EdTech vendors, College y Cymoedd wanted to prioritize those experienced in building for higher education while remaining adaptable and responsive to feedback. LearnWise’s model was chosen due to prioritizing agility, open collaboration, and iterative design. The project team engages closely with college staff, adjusting features and providing transparent updates at each stage of development.

LearnWise’s platform is designed specifically for education, not as a repurposed enterprise chatbot, but as a secure, evidence-based AI system that integrates directly with tools like Microsoft Teams, Brightspace, Canvas, and Moodle. This means the college can build on its existing digital infrastructure without adding complexity for staff or students.

The company’s bilingual deployment capabilities also play a key role. With partnerships such as NPTC Group of Colleges, LearnWise has already proven its ability to deliver English- and Welsh-language support that aligns with both accessibility requirements and regional priorities for equitable learning.

Innovation Through Partnership: Co-Creating Responsible AI

Cymoedd’s leadership describes the collaboration as one rooted in transparency, shared ownership, and mutual trust. Rather than purchasing an off-the-shelf solution, the college is building something dynamic, a model that can evolve over time and respond to real educational needs.

This co-creation process has reshaped how the college approaches technology adoption. It is not about what can be bought, but what can be built together, a reflection of LearnWise’s philosophy of partnership through innovation.

Shaping the Future of Ethical AI in Education

Across Wales, colleges and universities are coming together to define what responsible, community-driven AI in education should look like. The partnership between Coleg y Cymoedd and LearnWise AI embodies that shared mission, where collaboration, openness, and pedagogical intent guide technological development.

This work represents a distinctly Welsh approach to AI adoption: rooted in local collaboration, cultural awareness, and community-driven innovation. By connecting educators, learners, and technologists, Coleg y Cymoedd and LearnWise AI are helping to shape a blueprint for how further education can embrace AI responsibly, inclusively, and with confidence.

Learn More

• Explore the LearnWise AI Feedback Tool and AI Tutor
• Read our Jisc Pilot Results

Discover how NPTC Group of Colleges delivers multi-channel, bilingual AI support