The University of Oxford is leveraging Microsoft Copilot to turbocharge its digital transformation and to “future-proof” its education technology services.
Despite being one of the world’s oldest and most storied universities, Oxford stresses its intention to remain at the cutting edge of tech by integrating Gen AI across its operations, from research and teaching to administration.
One of the first groups to embrace AI adoption is the university’s IT Services department, comprising over 400 members. This department has begun using Copilot as part of a broader pilot programme across the institution.
Stuart Lee, University of Oxford’s Acting CIO, commented:
We actually went to Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond. What inspired us about Copilot was its potential benefits in the office of the now as well as in the office of the future. We came away thinking this is something we really need to start investing in.”
Oxford University’s IT team initially purchased licenses for most of its 400+ staff members to assess the impact across an entire department.
When first trialling Copilot, Lee says the department encountered a blend of curiosity and apprehension. While many staff members were eager to explore the tool, others were uncertain how AI could fit into their workflows. Onboarding meetings with Microsoft, briefing sessions, and regular engagement through Microsoft Teams empowered staff to experiment with Copilot in their daily tasks. As a result, Lee emphasises that confidence and enthusiasm grew across the department.
To support adoption, the team also established an internal community of practice where colleagues could share tips, ask questions, and participate in a weekly “prompt of the week” competition. Regular drop-in help clinics provided staff with guidance on tackling specific challenges.
An “acceleration team” was also formed to explore integrating Copilot with other applications and maximising its potential through Copilot Studio. Senior-level support played a key role, with regular comms from the Head of Department encouraging engagement and use.
In December 2024, the IT Services department ran a week-long survey, asking all license holders to track their use of Copilot and estimate time saved across various activities, such as summarising documents, creating content, supporting meetings, and managing tasks.
Lee noted: “While it’s too early to gauge full adoption levels and gather detailed feedback, we believe regular check-ins are essential as we move toward a formal assessment of value for money. Slowly but surely, staff members are becoming more familiar with Copilot AI, using it to enhance productivity, boost creativity, and increase their enjoyment at work.”
“As a very small team with many different priorities, we’ve found Copilot’s time-saving features to be a huge help,” added Sarah Zama, the University’s Head of User Experience. “It’s been invaluable in generating ideas and creating documents quickly, and we’ve discovered it can be very beneficial for neurodiverse users by helping them prioritise their workload and stay on-task.”
Microsoft Ignite 2024: All The Major Copilot Collaboration Announcements
Last month’s Microsoft Ignite was inevitably dominated by Copilot. The tech giant introduced several updates to streamline business tasks and enhance workplace productivity.
New agents became available for Microsoft 365, tackling mundane and complex business processes. SharePoint agents provide rapid insights to aid decision-making, while the Employee Self-Service Agent answers common workplace policy questions. The Facilitator agent, in preview, enhances Teams collaboration by taking notes and sharing conversation summaries.
Early next year, an Interpreter agent will enable real-time translation in up to nine languages. Additionally, the Project Manager agent automates project workflows in Planner, from task assignment to status reporting.
Copilot gains capabilities to summarise content in Teams, including shared files and meeting screen shares, with previews starting in 2025. PowerPoint updates include a Narrative Builder for branded presentations and translation features supporting 40 languages. Excel introduces task-specific templates for budgeting and tracking, while Outlook streamlines meeting scheduling with agenda drafting. Copilot in OneNote organises multimodal notes, and new Pages features enhance content creation.
For admins, Copilot offers analytics and insights via the Microsoft 365 Admin Centre (MAC), transforming IT management. Copilot Analytics provides business impact measurement through dashboards and reporting.
