WUOLKI
WUOLKI
WUOLKI - the intelligent support for your studies at the University of Oldenburg
Based on the development areas of the "Participate@UOL" project, the prototype AI chatbot "WUOLKI"(Welcometo the University of Oldenburg AI) was developed with the participation of the USL staff unit. As part of the project, the self-image was formulated to make access to the wide range of support services for students at the University of Oldenburg as low-threshold as possible. As students are increasingly using various AI tools in their day-to-day studies, but these do not yet reflect the university-specific support services, the idea was born to develop a dedicated AI system tailored to the university. WUOLKI is intended to help promote student participation and support students in actively shaping university learning and experience spaces.
The participatory development process
The development process was initiated in the summer semester of 2025 in collaboration with student staff members involved in the project and the USL administrative unit. To ensure the transparency, controllability and explainability of the AI system, a defined data pool was utilised, provided by the participating institutions BIS (Library and Information System) and ZSKB (Study and Career Counselling Service). This includes, amongst other things, information on courses as well as teaching and learning spaces.
The chatbot serves as a prototype support service for students. For example, it enables users to search specifically for courses, teaching and learning spaces, and other support services offered by the participating institutions via text and voice input, thereby making the relevant services quickly and immediately accessible.
Future prospects
The aim is to expand the range of applications in the future to cover further areas relating to studying at the University of Oldenburg.
During the development phase, students were surveyed on potential use cases for AI-based support systems at the University of Oldenburg. Initial findings from this survey point to additional needs, including in the areas of academic and career counselling, course-specific AI tutors, and AI-supported provision of scholarships and labour market-oriented development opportunities. As the chatbot is currently still in the beta phase, it is currently available on request. However, a public launch is planned in the near future.