18 Developing confidence
Anonymous, Postgraduate Student, Management, United Kingdom
I used GenAI in the context of enhancing my academic and professional development. Throughout my degree I leveraged GenAI to support my understanding of coursework, assignment or content in my modules. For example, in one of my modules, we used GenAI to understand the task, gather information about the product and what it sells, and we asked the AI to generate creative ideas on how we can approach the presentation. Additionally, I used GenAI to develop professional emails ensuring my emails were to a high standard when communicating with lecturers. In my IT module, I used GenAI to understand functions on Excel such as pivot tables and to look up functions to enhance my knowledge prior to the seminar.
Beyond academic tasks, I also used GenAI to prepare for interviews and application processes for placements. It helped me practise for interview questions, refine my CV and cover letter and provide likely interview questions. Therefore, my use of GenAI has increased both my academic assignments and personal tasks; this is a versatile support tool to create ideas, content and for professional preparation.
I integrated GenAI by using it as a support tool that complemented traditional study methods. For instance, while revising for my Tax exam, I used GenAI to explain complex concepts such as remuneration and rules for corporation tax. It generated simple explanations which were easy for me to understand and showed me tips and tricks to understand these concepts. Along with revision questions and answers to test my knowledge, this use of AI helped me to structure my revision technique accordingly. In addition, when my lectures lacked the subject coverage or clarity, I would use AI to help me learn and then make notes to ensure I have all relevant information.
Furthermore, I asked GenAI to act as a mock interviewer for job searches for my placement, which provided me with questions and feedback. I also used it to learn new topics that I found challenging, such as Adobe during my placement. This process helped me develop deeper understanding of business concepts and improving my practical skills. I used GenAI as a tool for understanding and to generate ideas, which gave me an ability to explore these new ideas with GenAI, but also gave me autonomy in my working style and how I approach it.
GenAI has acted as a mentor and made my learning journey more engaging
GenAI enhanced my learning experience by making information easier to understand and easy to access. Firstly, it helped me to understand complex topics in my modules by breaking them down into simple explanations and by providing examples. This gave me confidence in learning and saved time, by allowing me to focus on applying concepts rather than searching for resources, for hours. GenAI improved the quality of my work by providing feedback on how to improve my notes and plans, as well as offering follow up suggestions.
The feedback process polished my plan and my work, but also showed me how to approach my revision style. As GenAI was constantly available, and would adapt to each question, it meant that I could experiment with ideas, ask for clarity, and receive feedback anytime. This fostered a proactive learning mindset; I was able to challenge myself and explore new areas confidently. GenAI has acted as a mentor and made my learning journey more engaging. This goes hand in hand with lectures as AI has provided tailored responses to complex information and an understanding of the materials, which AI breaks down into micro steps to help with clarity.
