WiseLearn: An Open Educational AI Agent Platform Empowered By Large Language Models
The modern classroom faces a persistent paradox: while we celebrate the uniqueness of every learner, the sheer scale of higher education often forces a one-size-fits-all approach. Educators frequently find themselves submerged in a sea of repetitive administrative queries and the exhaustive labour of manual assignment creation. Simultaneously, students yearn for the kind of immersive, practice-based experiences—such as simulating boardroom negotiations or historical debates—that traditional textbooks simply cannot provide. While generic AI tools offer a glimpse of a solution, their tendency toward "hallucinations" and their lack of pedagogical focus often create more hurdles than they clear.
Enter WiseLearn, a visionary "Innovation Workshop" designed to transform our academic community from passive consumers of technology into master creators. Led by Dr ZHANG Mingjin, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Computing, this platform introduces the concept of EduAgents—specialised, reliable, and highly interactive AI assistants that anyone can build without writing a single line of code. Imagine an educational "App Store" where a student crafts a bespoke IELTS Speaking Partner to polish their fluency, or a professor launches a dedicated Course Q&A Bot that draws exclusively from curated lecture notes. By shifting the power of AI into the hands of those who use it most, we bridge the gap between technological potential and classroom reality.
The true magic of WiseLearn lies in its seamless, user-friendly design that handles the technical heavy lifting behind the scenes. It provides a secure environment where AI is "grounded" in verified university materials, ensuring that every interaction is accurate and relevant. Through an intuitive, drag-and-drop interface, educators and students can easily design an agent’s specific role and goals, even connecting it to helpful tools like calculators. This all lives within a shared community library, where innovations are published and discovered, allowing a brilliant tutoring tool created in one department to inspire learners across the entire campus.
As a major milestone in the WiseLearn journey—the very first course-specific AI assistant has been deployed and is already making a real difference for students. Built using the WiseLearn platform, this custom EduAgent was created for COMP2322: Computer Networks. Powered entirely by the course’s own lecture slides and learning materials, the AI assistant has been supporting over 100 students in the class—available 24/7 to answer questions, clarify concepts, and help reinforce understanding.
But it doesn’t stop there. Going beyond simple Q&A, the agent also analyses the questions students ask to generate personalised revision suggestions, helping each learner focus on areas where they need the most support. It’s like having a teaching assistant who’s always on call, always patient, and always learning alongside the students. This is just the beginning. With WiseLearn, new EduAgents can be easily created for other courses—tailored to different subjects, teaching styles, and student needs. Our vision is to grow this into a rich ecosystem of AI-powered teaching and learning tools, empowering both educators and students across the university.
This project is awarded under the Teaching Development Grant 2025–28 in the Theme-based Projects category (Individual Project).
