Building AI understanding through partnership
Kellogg College and the AI Competency Centre are creating opportunities for AI learning, discussion and community across Oxford.
Partnerships are central to Kellogg College’s mission of creating opportunities for learning, collaboration and innovation. By working with organisations across the University and beyond, the College is able to bring expertise, ideas and opportunities into its community while creating wider benefits for students, staff and partners alike.
One example is Kellogg’s partnership with the University of Oxford’s AI Competency Centre, which is helping to build AI understanding, confidence and community across the collegiate University.
The collaboration began through Xavier Laurent, Training Manager at the AI Competency Centre and a Research Member of Common Room at Kellogg College, who was keen to contribute to College life through meaningful engagement with artificial intelligence. Working closely with colleagues at Kellogg, the partnership has developed into a wide-ranging programme of talks, workshops and community initiatives.
Over the past academic year, consultants from the AI Competency Centre have delivered a series of evening sessions at Kellogg College covering topics including building confidence in AI, neural networks, generative AI for teaching and research, how large language models understand text and meaning, and practical ways to use AI tools for learning and strategic thinking. (View our playlist on YouTube.)
The partnership has also extended beyond lectures. Members of the team have supported training for Kellogg students through Oxford Lifelong Learning, while a new Data Community of Practice for colleges was launched in May. Xavier also played a key role in helping to organise Kellogg’s Bletchley Park Week, contributing to what became the College’s most extensive and well-attended programme to date, including sessions featuring Sir Dermot Turing and Sir Nigel Shadbolt.
Together, Kellogg College and the AI Competency Centre have created opportunities for staff, students and members of the wider University community to explore both the technical development of AI and the practical skills needed to engage with it responsibly and confidently.
The partnership continues this term with upcoming lectures exploring AI in the context of accessibility and sustainability. It will also feature prominently in Kellogg College’s AI Exploration Week in July, with further activity planned for the next academic year.
Register now to attend:
- Powering Intelligence: AI and the Drive for Sustainability on 10 June at Kellogg College
- A range of events during AI Exploration Week, 6-10 July 2026, organised by the AI Competency Centre and open to all University staff
- A comedy night with Sharath Jeevan, as he turns his humour towards how AI is transforming work, education, creativity and human relationships at extraordinary speed
