University of Cambridge

Cambridge broadly permits appropriate GenAI use for personal study, research and formative work, with nuanced Department, Faculty or College guidance controlling the context. Students should check local rules with staff; this is not blanket permission for summative assessments.

Cambridge’s educational guidance advises users to consider privacy and ethics, avoid sharing personal/sensitive material carelessly, acknowledge a significant and unrevised GenAI contribution to substantive or impactful work, and take responsibility for lawful use under relevant University policies. These general recommendations do not replace a particular assessment’s declaration requirements.

Cambridge says examiners across undergraduate, taught-postgraduate and research-postgraduate programmes may not upload, copy or share student work with GenAI/LLMs or use them to analyse submissions and produce feedback. The source also prohibits sharing student IP/submissions without student permission because of uncertain storage/use. Examiners may use AI to support their own feedback writing, such as consolidating personal notes or rephrasing comments; this is not blanket permission to upload student work.

Cambridge’s staff administrative-use guidance recommends avoiding confidential, sensitive or personal data in GenAI unless warranted and consistent with the guidance. This document expressly excludes teaching, student learning/assessment, research, and College or other separate-entity business. It is not an unconditional privacy prohibition for all student AI use.

Google Gemini is included in Cambridge’s University Google Workspace core apps for staff and students. University-account access is distinct from permitted coursework, assessment and research data use.

Most Cambridge staff and students have a standard Microsoft licence with Copilot Chat access at no extra charge. Microsoft 365 application integration requires an additional paid licence; UIS currently lists approximately £300 per user/year and an A3 or A5 account for purchase. Institutional account access and commercial data protection do not grant assessment permission.

Most Cambridge staff and students have a standard Microsoft licence with Copilot Chat access at no extra charge. Microsoft 365 application integration requires an additional paid licence; UIS currently lists approximately £300 per user/year and an A3 or A5 account for purchase. Institutional account access and commercial data protection do not grant assessment permission.

Google NotebookLM is included in Cambridge’s University Google Workspace core apps for staff and students. University-account access is distinct from permitted coursework, assessment and research data use.

For staff administrative work, Cambridge recommends its licensed Copilot, Gemini and NotebookLM wherever practicable. Other licensed tools are not prohibited but must follow applicable procurement processes and any requisite DPIA/ISRA risk assessments. Within this administrative guidance, the public free versions of the named tools must not be used for University activities. These rules do not establish student assessment permission.

Cambridge’s staff administrative guidance says that in the limited circumstances requiring a formal risk assessment, the University DPIA and ISRA processes are the relevant processes. This is not a requirement to perform both assessments for every AI use. Applicable procurement and acceptable-use conditions still apply within the document’s administrative scope.

Cambridge’s staff administrative guidance says inputs to the University’s licensed Copilot, Gemini and NotebookLM are not used to train those tools. Free/unlicensed tools may use input for training, which may not be lawful for personal data. This is an institutional-product protection, not a guarantee for consumer accounts or permission for a particular task.

Cambridge’s staff administrative guidance requires consideration of the purpose for which personal data was collected and compatibility of proposed AI use. With exceptions such as academic research, it says repurposing personal data for another GenAI task is inappropriate. Its separate discussion of automated decisions affecting people requires ultimate human involvement. The document’s own teaching/research and separate-entity exclusions remain relevant.

Cambridge’s educational AI framework supports Triposes, Departments, Faculties and Colleges setting their own local allowances. It is an educational policy framework; its existence must not be interpreted as absence of all central assessment or research requirements.

For University staff administrative work, Cambridge’s risk mitigations require human evaluation before using GenAI outputs and acknowledgement when AI makes a significant and unrevised contribution to substantive or impactful work, such as formal policies or strategic reports. The guidance excludes teaching, student learning/assessment and research; it does not impose this administrative requirement on all student coursework.