PolyU CPCE ITU Launches Agentic AI Assistant Creating a New Experience in Smart Campus IT Services

The College of Professional and Continuing Education of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU CPCE) has been committed to promoting the construction of a smart campus and enhancing the intelligence level of teaching and student support services. Recently, the Information Technology Unit (ITU) successfully developed and launched an Agentic AI Assistant that combines Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), Domain-Specific Fine-tuning (DSF), and Agentic AI Framework. This assistant is designed to respond to and proactively handle various student queries and tasks related to IT services.

Agentic System Surpasses Traditional Digital Support
This innovative system not only understands natural language queries and provides informational responses but also possesses "agentic capabilities”. It can not only answer questions but also proactively execute simple IT tasks, offering students a more complete and automated digital support experience. Dr Jason Chan, MH, JP, Associate Dean (Information and Development) and Head of Information Technology of PolyU CPCE and also Director PolyU SPEED, stated: "For example, when students inquire 'What should I do if I forget my password?' or 'How do I reset my CPCE account password?', the AI not only provides textual instructions but also guides the process based on the student's identity and even assists in submitting password reset requests, truly becoming a 'capable AI assistant'." Additionally, the AI assistant can recognise needs in different scenarios, such as insufficient printing quota, abnormal wireless network connection, and software authorisation issues, providing corresponding operational suggestions, linking support resources, and even initiating subsequent processing procedures.

Guardian of Data Security: Autonomous AI Platform
The core of this technology is the autonomous large language model platform developed and managed by the ITU. Unlike AI systems that rely on external cloud application programming interfaces (APIs), PolyU CPCE's AI assistant operates within the AI experimental environment of the College's data centre, offering greater advantages in ensuring data security and information privacy. Associate Head of Information Technology Mr Jackie Siu explained: "Student queries and interaction content are processed entirely within the campus network, without the need to transmit to external vendor platforms, ensuring that personal data is not leaked or misused, and meeting the strict requirements of the higher education sector for information security, compliance, and data sovereignty”.

Within the AI experimental environment of the College's data centre, the ITU can flexibly control the content of the knowledge base and the logic of AI behaviour, ensuring that AI responses closely adhere to campus policies, IT support procedures, and the latest system updates, avoiding incorrect suggestions inconsistent with campus operations. This autonomous adjustment capability also makes the system highly sustainable and scalable, allowing for the addition of new functions based on future needs, including system health checks, guidance on common teaching software operation processes, and even personalised educational technology recommendations.

Optimising Student Experience: Practical Applications of AI Assistant 
Dr Chan pointed out that students, as the primary user group, can greatly benefit from this Agentic AI assistant. Previously, when encountering IT problems, students often had to search through web pages and emails or contact the IT support department to find solutions; now, they only need to ask the AI assistant to receive clear guidance, immediate assistance, and even complete some operations. This not only saves students valuable time but also reduces the daily workload of IT support staff, allowing the support team to focus on more challenging and strategic tasks.

Currently, the system has been piloted within the campus. Jackie stated that the ITU plans to expand it to the student self-service platform and mobile applications in the next phase, achieving a 24/7, one-stop intelligent IT support experience. The ITU will also continue to collect user feedback, optimise the model's response logic and task processing procedures, and hopes to further apply this technology to learning support, administrative processing, and cross-departmental service integration, truly realising the vision of an AI-driven smart campus.

Leader in Digital Transformation: Future Outlook of PolyU CPCE 
PolyU CPCE includes PolyU HKCC, which offers sub-degree programmes, and PolyU SPEED, which provides undergraduate top-up degree programmes and master's degree programmes. The College will continue to lead the digital transformation in education, utilising autonomous AI technology to provide students and faculty with a safe, efficient, and reliable digital support platform, building a future learning ecosystem driven by people and technology.