AI guidelines
Guidelines on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Coursework, Examinations and Theses at the Faculty of Biology and Pre-clinical Medicine
Coursework and examinations are intended to guide students towards an independent engagement with scientific theories, empirical findings and research methods, and to enable them to demonstrate, in qualification theses (admission theses, Bachelor’s and Master’s theses, or doctoral theses) to demonstrate their ability to carry out independent scientific work.
1. General requirements
As a general rule, all resources used in the preparation of coursework, examinations or qualification theses must be cited, unless they are trivial tools such as writing implements, calculators or word-processing programmes.
2. Spelling and grammar checks
The spell-checking and grammar-checking functions integrated into word-processing programmes are permitted as trivial tools for the preparation of academic work, even if they utilise artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms.
3. AI-assisted text generation and text-to-image generators
AI-assisted text generation and text-to-image generators are not trivial tools and their use must be clearly indicated in coursework, examination papers and qualification theses.
The use of AI-assisted text generation and text-to-image generators, and the documentation thereof, must be agreed with the lecturers prior to the completion of coursework, examination papers or qualification theses (e.g. whether the prompts should be reproduced verbatim).
The use of such tools may be taken into account when assessing coursework, examination papers and qualification theses, particularly with regard to their independence and originality. The final assessment is at the discretion of the lecturers.
4. Students’ responsibility
Regardless of whether the aids used are specified, the student remains fully responsible for the content of coursework and examination papers.
5. Copyright notices
The use of texts generated by AI tools may infringe the (copyright) rights of third parties. It should therefore be noted that responsibility for complying with these rights lies with the author of the coursework, examination work or qualification papers.
When using AI tools, it should be borne in mind that any text entered may be used as prompts to train the AI. The use of third-party texts as prompts may constitute a potential copyright infringement.
Detailed information on the use of artificial intelligence can be found in the UR’s AI guide:
Declaration of Originality
Declaration of Originality using AI from the Faculty of Biology and Pre-clinical Medicine – download: Word file (opens in a new window)
Further information
VBIO press release: It’s all about acquiring skills – Biology Association presents guidelines on AI in study and teaching (external link, opens in a new window)
VBIO AI guidelines – PDF (external link, opens in a new window)