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Good practice Imported

Genie — Deakin University's AI virtual assistant for student admissions and services

Australia · Melbourne · See the Australia profile · See the Melbourne profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 95% 20/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Deakin University's AI chatbot 'Genie' answered enrolment, fee and timetable queries, reaching 25,000+ student downloads and 12,000 daily conversations by 2019. Independent trade press confirms the figures; current status is unverified.

more than 25,000 downloads
Student app downloads (by September 2019) (by September 2019)
up to 12,000 conversations/day
Peak daily conversations (by September 2019) (peak, by September 2019)
Genie — Deakin University's AI virtual assistant for student admissions and services

Details

Promoter
Deakin University
Period
2014–2019 (confirmed); 2020–2026 status unconfirmed
Keywords
higher education, chatbot, student services, admissions, virtual assistant

Context

Genie is a mobile chatbot and virtual-assistant app built by Deakin University's in-house IT Group, originating in 2014 as an IBM Watson-powered digital student advisor integrated into the university's DeakinSync learning platform, before evolving into a standalone app piloted in 2017 and launched university-wide in late 2018.

Activities

Students used Genie to ask about enrolment, fees, financial aid, timetables, assignment and exam deadlines, library loans and campus services. Deakin also piloted a commercial spin-off, 'Claims Companion by Genie', tested with Allianz Australia in 2019.

Results

Independent Australian and international trade press corroborated that by September 2019 Genie had been downloaded by more than 25,000 students and was handling up to 12,000 conversations a day at peak times. The tool won a 2018 iTnews Benchmark Award and a Reimagine Education Gold Award.

Conclusions

Earlier vendor-affiliated claims of a 5-10% reduction in staff-handled inquiries and 30,000 questions answered in one trimester could not be independently corroborated beyond an IBM-affiliated case-study page, and no peer-reviewed evaluation of learning, retention or satisfaction outcomes was found. Coverage of Genie stops after 2019, so its present-day (2025-26) status should be treated as unconfirmed.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — Built in-house by Deakin University's IT Group; no budget figures disclosed in the source.
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — Originated 2014 as an IBM Watson-based advisor, piloted 2017, launched university-wide late 2018; independently confirmed activity through September 2019, with status thereafter unconfirmed.
Staffing & skills
Deakin University's in-house IT Group

Conditions for success

  • Integration with the existing DeakinSync learning platform
  • Phased rollout: originated as an IBM Watson advisor (2014), piloted as a standalone app (2017), launched university-wide (2018)

Common failure modes

  • Vendor-affiliated impact claims (5-10% reduction in staff-handled inquiries, 30,000 questions in one trimester) could not be independently corroborated beyond an IBM case-study page
  • No peer-reviewed evaluation of learning, retention or satisfaction outcomes was found
  • Current operational status (2025-26) is unconfirmed since coverage stops after 2019

Commonly funded by

Own resources / municipal budget

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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