Westminster’s Dr Doug Specht and Professor Gunter Saunders have co-authored a new report from the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI). The paper argues that universities should take more robust approaches to GenAI integration and introduces a new framework to help institutions use GenAI effectively while keeping human skills and expertise at the centre.
The report, titled Being Indispensable: Capabilities for a Human-AI World, the FUTURES Framework, highlights that strengthening human skills must be the top priority for higher education institutions to harness the greatest benefits from GenAI.
The authors note 75% of young people aged 13 to 18 have already used GenAI, with similar patterns visible across higher education. This rapid uptake brings major opportunities, as GenAI can personalise learning, reduce staff workload and widen access to support. However, the report warns that the risks are substantial, for example GenAI models can reflect bias within their training data. Access to and reliance on the most advanced systems may also deepen inequalities, and undermine independence, originality and authentic learning, as well as lead to negative environmental impact.
The report argues universities need a dual approach to GenAI-enabled learning. It calls for curricula that embeds human-AI collaboration while ensuring that ethical reasoning, critical thinking and wellbeing remain central to academic development. New approaches must also include practical governance, colleague and student training, as well as equitable access to tools.
To support this, the authors have introduced the FUTURES framework, a practical model designed to help institutions integrate GenAI effectively while strengthening the human capabilities that AI cannot replace. The framework spans seven topics including Fluency in AI and Digital Systems, Understanding Self and Wellbeing, and Technology Ethics and Responsibility, among others.
The FUTURES framework offers universities a concrete way of turning high-level AI principles into day-to-day educational practice. By using FUTURES alongside tools such as Jisc’s AI Maturity Framework, institutions can design modules, assessments and professional development that deliberately build the human skills needed to work critically and creatively with GenAI, ensuring that technological adoption is firmly anchored in teaching values and student success.
Going forward, the report argues that sector bodies should provide clearer guidance on assessment in an AI-enabled environment, and that government should invest in capability building to ensure students and colleagues thrive in an AI-rich world.
Dr Doug Specht, Head of the School of Media and Communication at the University of Westminster and co-author of the report, said: “GenAI is already woven into students’ everyday lives, so universities cannot afford to sit on the sidelines; we must redesign curricula, assessment and support so that human judgement, ethics and wellbeing are strengthened, not eroded, by these tools.
“The FUTURES framework is our invitation to the sector to move past short-term panic and piecemeal policies towards a coherent, human-centred approach that prepares students to thrive as coworkers with AI rather than competitors to it.”
Co-author Professor Gunter Saunders, Director of Digital Capability Development and AI Leadership at the University of Westminster, said: “As use of GenAI becomes commonplace, distinctly human qualities such as imagination, creativity, integrity and collaboration become even more valuable. Universities have a responsibility to intentionally develop these capabilities so graduates can shape the future rather than simply respond to it.”
Nick Hillman, Director of HEPI, added: “The voracious appetite of universities to learn more about how best to use AI is unmatched by anything I have seen in 20 years of working on higher education policy.
“Governors, managers and other colleagues are very eager to ensure their institutions capture the full advantages of AI. But there is a lot of confusion and uncertainty, not to mention intense funding pressures, that gets in the way. So, I expect this very practical report to be welcomed by institutions up and down the country.”
This report directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4: Quality Education and 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.
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