Student Services

Grand Valley State Intros AI-Powered Campus Assistant

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 11/09/20

A new app at Grand Valley State University will serve as a campus assistant for students. MyBlueLaker Assistant uses voice and artificial intelligence to help students answer questions about such topics as buildings, transportation and dining; registration and class details; and grade alerts.

Students who log in with their student ID can connect to their own records and ask questions specific to their individual needs. And the app uses current location data to generate directions to buildings and points of interest on campus and current bus route information.

The app was built on a platform produced by n-Powered specifically for use by higher education. To generate answers, the company's API allows the app to collect information from various campus applications, including the learning management system, the registrar's system, marketing, student identity, financial aid and others.

According to the university, the app "will continue to improve." As users ask questions, it will learn more about the kind of information they're really seeking. Users can provide feedback in the app via a thumbs-up and thumbs-down response.

The program runs in standard browsers, as well as on Apple and Google devices.

"By working directly with Grand Valley State University, we were able to provide an instrumental and personalized communication tool that meets the needs of the students and reduces the stress of a new semester," said Somen Saha, president and CEO at n-Powered, in a press release.