This article is not written by an artificial intelligence (AI) program. As AI technology and capabilities evolve daily, it certainly could have been – but writing and research only scrape the surface of the AI iceberg, according to a team of UConn faculty and researchers doing a deep dive into AI learning at the University. This team, led by Professor Arash Zaghi, civil and environmental engineering, has just received a five-year National Science Foundation (NSF) Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (RED) grant to continue their work on cultivating neuroadaptive learning ecosystems through AI-powered learning.

UConn Engineering Dean JC Zhao is the overall principal investigator of this grant, helping to implement the approach broadly across the College of Engineering and UConn in general.

Zaghi and the interdisciplinary team have been studying AI’s potential to revolutionize personalized learning. Initial work, funded in part by previous NSF grants, focused on using AI to help neurodiverse learners in engineering disciplines with challenges such as autism, ADHD and dyslexia. Used in this context, AI, he explains, can help contextualize material, provide timely student support, and create virtual coaching systems to improve retention and academic performance.

“Our research examined the challenges of trying to impose a one-size-fits-all model in teaching, and the capacity of AI to customize course material for diverse learners,” Zaghi explains. “We soon realized that AI could benefit all students, regardless of their learning difficulties, and we saw the value of trying to shift people’s thinking from seeing neurodiversity as only a disruptive medical condition to viewing it as an untapped asset.”

Fabiana Cardetti, professor in the Department of Mathematics, and professor-in-residence Sarira Motaref, also associate director of innovation and student success, serve as co-principal investigators. The fourth team member is Connie Syharat, research assistant, program manager and a Ph.D. candidate in engineering education at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Motaref specializes in neurodiversity and course redesign. She says that an inclusive, instructional approach to AI equips UConn students for a high-quality, future-ready education.

“By integrating AI into coursework, we help students use it purposefully and ethically: as a personalized learning aid, a bridge between class content and their disciplinary interests, and a tool whose outputs must be verified through professional judgment. Students also learn where human expertise is essential and why copying AI output blindly undermines learning and jeopardizes careers.

“For UConn,” she adds, “this work aligns teaching with the realities of the modern workplace, strengthens employer partnerships, and positions the university as a leader in responsible innovation. For higher education broadly, it offers a scalable model for equitable, ethical AI literacy that enhances learning while reducing misuse.”

Cardetti is leading the integration of AI in math classes at UConn. She stresses that their work is important to both the educational and research missions of the university.

“This work is important for UConn students because it helps them overcome real barriers that research has shown they face,” says Cardetti. “By building on that research, we can focus on easing challenges in their learning experiences, so they can make timely progress and succeed in reaching their educational goals. At the same time, the work is structured to give us, the project team, a chance to learn more about which teaching and learning practices truly help – or sometimes hold back – our students’ journeys at UConn, and to incorporate this learning as the project progresses.

“In addition, our focus on integrating AI into education positions UConn at the forefront of a rapidly developing field,” Cardetti adds. “The interdisciplinary team’s contributions are expected to build research-to-practice bridges that benefit UConn students while also shaping educational research and practice more broadly.”

A parallel project which grew out of the AI research is already being implemented across UConn. When students arrive at school, Zaghi adds, everyone has learning challenges or faces barriers to assimilation and adjusting to university life. As an outgrowth of their research, UConn has already launched a new course called AI4ALL. Close to 500 students enrolled in Fall 2025, with the goal of offering it to all incoming UConn freshmen by 2028.

“With AI, we realized we had tools to help students with daily challenges like how to plan out their day, scheduling, homework, coaching and mentoring access, integrating more easily with classmates and other students, communication and cultural changes, and interactive assists to help them deal with anxiety and mental health issues,” Zaghi says. “There are many other anticipated benefits, as well, which we are exploring.”

In summing up her colleagues’ assessments as to the overall value of their research and goals, Syharat says the project is both timely and relevant as they navigate dramatic changes in engineering fields.

“By providing students with more meaningful support and contextualized learning experiences, we hope to capitalize on students’ assets to enhance their engagement and build key engineering skills during their time at UConn,” she explains. “We are also building on our prior work in which we found that shifting our mindset about neurodiversity allows us to create more inclusive learning environments for a wide range of learners. Now, we are considering how AI can really help create experiences that consider the individual strengths and challenges of all students.”

Zaghi sees endless benefits to their research, but also cautions that as the project progresses, the world around us – and technology – is changing at lightning speed.

“When we started this project, AI was evolving so quickly that we had to scrap the first models we had created; I can’t even imagine what things will look like in five years, by the time we finish this grant,” he reflects. “Our goal is to remain agile and update our work as we go, continuously focused on mental health, general wellbeing, and improved ways of learning.”

“This project is timely as the potential and capabilities of AI are growing exponentially,” says Dean Zhao. “Personalized learning powered by AI will unlock the full potential of our students, especially those whose learning styles differ from the majority.”