It is an incredible honour for Studiosity to be named to Fast Company's 2025 list of World-Changing Ideas. This recognition is not just for our platform and the people behind it, but for our global higher education community and a shared philosophy on the future of education in an AI age.
The AI Era has led the higher education sector to a crossroads. One path offers instant answers and automated productivity, but comes at the cost of the erosion of critical thinking and communication skills - the bedrock of higher-order credentials.
This award celebrates the work of all our institutional partners around the world, who are choosing another path.
The philosophy: 'AI for Learning,' backed by evidence.
The ‘AI for Learning’ model is built on a simple but powerful premise: technology must serve learning, not supplant it. Too often AI tools remove student agency by making corrections ("accept all"), offering to "fix my voice," or adding a veneer of personal development over the top of convenience or productivity.
Studiosity is designed precisely for higher education to provide students with immediate, one-to-one formative feedback that helps them understand how to improve, rather than having AI generate answers for them. This deliberate design protects each student's voice and grows a culture of educational integrity at scale - critical at a time when AI for Productivity is the more mainstream use case for professionals, but entirely unfit for students trying to authentically develop new skills.
A 2025 University of Bedfordshire study confirmed: “Students are responsible for implementing Studiosity’s feedback, rather than automatically accepting changes. This approach preserves students’ authorship and is compatible with UK institutional academic integrity policies.”
Our ethical framework is also upheld by a "humans in the loop" system - a standard for AI in education advocated by UNESCO and now included in best practice institutional policies. This ensures that the technology not only facilities learning gain and writing improvement, but also increases human connection via peers, teacher oversight, and includes permanent quality assurances by human teams.
A global effort with our university partners
This achievement is a direct result of a global, collaborative effort, driven by Studiosity's dedicated team -including student experience, product design, academic services, Academic Advisory Board, AI teams, operations and many more. Located around the world - including Auckland, London, Dubai, Toronto, and Salt Lake City, and Sydney - we are always working together with university leaders and educators. In partnership, our dedicated teams deploy and refine an AI-powered support system that is both technologically advanced and deeply human.
To accelerate student success and integrity even further via college partnerships, our collaborations with both Universities UK and American Council on Education ensure more institutions and their students can benefit from world-class, ethical AI for Learning.
The results of partnership
Our partnership model with HE institutions and educators delivers tangible, world-changing outcomes:
- A proven return on retention: An external meta-analysis by Nous Group (2022) of 10 separate university studies, confirms that institutions see a 4.4x return on investment attributable to Studiosity, measured as retained students who stay enrolled and successfully graduate.
- Supporting pedagogy, educators, and wider support systems: Professor Jane Harrington, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Greenwich , notes the best impact occurs when Studiosity "is actually used as part of the curriculum." QUT (Queensland University of Technology) found "Tutors find it easy to integrate" the service. “Pedagogical viability” is confirmed by institutions like University of Adelaide (Lee, 2024.) Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) in Pakistan notes that Studiosity "enhanced understanding," and describe it as “pedagogically sound.” Studiosity’s role in supporting the broader college ecosystem is a critical aspect of its product design; for instance, Studiosity referrals led to a 700% increase in student traffic to one college’s ‘APA Support Centre.’
- Supporting more students: The platform drives significant participation increases, for example, 100% at the University of Newcastle and 842% at Plymouth Marjon University. Multiple universities report positive student confidence, including QUT ("84% felt more confident") and The University of Waikato ("100% of students said they felt more confident"). University of Greenwich states the service "levels the field" for diverse students and offers a "safe space" for those less confident. A University of Bedfordshire study found the "AI feedback is equivalent to that of human feedback," effectively "identifies critical thinking examples," and ensures "students are responsible for implementing... feedback, rather than automatically accepting changes." The University of Adelaide's interim study (Lee, 2024) found that Studiosity "Effectively develops critical thinking skills," while QUT noted "68% interactions were outside business hours,” highlighting its accessibility for non-traditional students.
“Attainment and pass rates were significantly improved, regardless of a student’s starting position.” - University of Roehampton, London.
- Transformative engagement and writing improvement: In a staff survey at University of Bedfordshire, the report heard that Studiosity offered “an objective precision and consistency,” that “feedback provided by AI was equivalent to human feedback, and that provided by academics,” and one individual noted that "it's consistent in the areas that it covers.” AIOU reported "better assignment quality" and "Significant improvement in academic writing skills." The University of Roehampton, London found “Attainment and pass rates were significantly improved, regardless of a student’s starting position.”
It all comes down to student confidence and success
Professor Jane Harrington, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Greenwich and early adopter of Studiosity, described how a student approached her at graduation and said, "You told me to use all the tools that were available. I did. And look where I am now."
This Fast Company recognition is an honour for the entire community - our visionary university partners, dedicated educators, leaders, and students, and the global Studiosity team.
Thank you for sharing our mission to increase the 'life chances' of every student in the world.
#highereducation #AIforLearning
