AI competence is an essential skill for the future world of work and for higher education studies. It is also considered a civic competence (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2026). Lapland University of Applied Sciences encourages both students and staff to make use of artificial intelligence to support learning, teaching, work, and development activities. However, AI must be used responsibly, safely, and transparently.

Responsible use of AI requires understanding both its opportunities and limitations, as well as critically evaluating the information it generates. AI users must also comply with data protection and copyright requirements and disclose the use of AI whenever required by applicable guidelines. AI can support learning and teaching, but it does not replace independent thinking, learning, professional expertise, or personal responsibility for the content of one’s work.

It is important to develop AI literacy. AI literacy refers to the ability to understand how AI works, its possibilities and limitations, to evaluate the information it generates, and to use AI ethically, safely, and appropriately. AI competence also includes familiarity with AI applications and use cases relevant to one’s own field. During your studies, you will develop the knowledge and skills needed to use AI appropriately, critically, responsibly, and safely in professional tasks within your field.

Lapland UAS follows Arene´s recommendations on the use of artificial intelligence issued by the Rectors’ Conference of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences (Arene, 2026) and  Finnish National Board on Research Integrity’s (TENK) 2026 recommendations on the responsible use of artificial intelligence in research (Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK, 2026)

Lapland UAS applies Arene’s traffic light model in teaching to guide the appropriate use of artificial intelligence. The guidelines are regularly updated in accordance with international and national policies, recommendations, and legislation.

AI can support your learning in many ways, whether you are a student or an expert. It can be used, for example, to support brainstorming, organise information, clarify concepts, improve your writing, plan your studies, and assess your own learning and competence. AI is sometimes referred to as augmented intelligence or supportive intelligence because its purpose is to support learning, not to replace your own critical thinking.

You are always responsible for the content and originality of the assignments, texts, calculations, images, and other work that you submit. AI may generate inaccurate information, fabricated references, incomplete interpretations, or one-sided perspectives. Therefore, you must verify information provided by AI using reliable original sources and critically evaluate all AI-generated outputs. Do not outsource your own thinking to AI.

When using AI, keep the following principles in mind:

• Understand the opportunities of AI applications in learning, professional work, and everyday life.
• Develop your AI literacy and maintain a critical approach to AI-generated outputs, as you are always responsible for your own work. Responsibility for the content remains with you. Verify information suggested by AI and ensure that any ideas or claims presented without citations are either your own or commonly known knowledge. Be aware that AI can hallucinate, meaning it may generate incorrect interpretations or inaccurate information. You can learn more about the challenges and limitations of AI here (captions in English).
• Recognise the limitations of AI systems. AI does not possess subject-matter expertise, genuine understanding, or responsibility. Being aware of these limitations will help you evaluate when and how the use of AI is appropriate in different situations.
• Act responsibly. Disclose the use of AI whenever required. Follow guidelines related to fairness, equality, respect, data protection, and copyright. For more information, see the section “The use of AI requires responsibility.”

Teaching staff provide guidance on the use of artificial intelligence in individual courses and learning assignments in accordance with Arene’s (2026) traffic light model. The traffic light model indicates whether AI may be used in completing an assignment or producing a final output, whether its use must be disclosed, and whether the use of AI affects assessment. The model consists of four colour-coded categories that are used to communicate these guidelines (Figure 1).

An output refers to the final piece of work or performance produced by a student in response to the intended learning outcomes of an assignment. Outputs may include, for example, an essay, research report, presentation, project, image, video, mathematical calculation, or any other tangible product that demonstrates the student’s competence and achievement of the learning objectives.

• Blue: AI use required. AI must be used in producing the output and its use affects assessment. Students must explain how they used AI. Failure to use AI when required will affect the assessment.
• Red: AI use prohibited. The output must be produced without the assistance of AI. The use of AI is considered academic misconduct.
• Yellow/Orange: AI use permitted, disclosure required. AI may be used in creating the output. Students must explain how they used AI. Failure to disclose the use of AI is considered academic misconduct. The use of AI may influence assessment.
• Green: AI use permitted, no disclosure required. AI may be used freely in creating the output without separate disclosure. The use of AI does not affect assessment.

If the use of AI is prohibited in an assignment, using AI is considered academic misconduct. If AI use is permitted but must be disclosed, failure to report its use is considered academic misconduct.

Academic misconduct refers to dishonest behaviour in studies, research, or assessment. It involves attempting to gain an unjustified advantage or providing a false impression of one’s own competence or performance.

Examples of academic misconduct include:

• Fabrication: presenting invented information, data, or references, including citing non-existent sources.
• Falsification: manipulating observations, results, or data so that they no longer correspond to the original findings.
• Cheating: using prohibited methods or materials, for example during an examination.
• Attendance fraud: giving a false impression of one’s own or another person’s attendance in a course or learning activity.
• Unauthorised collaboration: completing work intended to be individual through collaboration with others or with the assistance of a ghostwriter.
• Plagiarism: presenting another person’s text, ideas, or work as one’s own without appropriate acknowledgement and referencing.
• Disregard for good scientific practice, including careless, misleading, or fabricated citations and references (TENK, 2023).

Academic misconduct and the procedures for handling misconduct cases are described in the Lapland University of Applied Sciences Guidelines for Academic Misconduct webpages.

Teaching staff are responsible for ensuring that learning assignments and assessment methods enable the reliable evaluation of each student’s own competence and achievement.

Teaching staff may use AI solutions approved by Lapland University of Applied Sciences to support teaching, guidance, feedback, and assessment. However, the final assessment and all assessment decisions always remain the responsibility of the teacher. If AI is used to support assessment or the provision of feedback, students must be informed of its use in an open and transparent manner. The results of an AI detection tool must not be used as the sole basis for determining academic misconduct or imposing sanctions.

Lapland University of Applied Sciences monitors developments in AI technologies and updates its guidelines as necessary. The institution provides students and staff with secure AI services, offers guidance on their use, and supports the development of AI literacy skills.

Use tools provided or approved by Lapland UAS whenever possible. Students and staff of Lapland University of Applied Sciences have access to Microsoft Copilot through their organisational accounts. Using Copilot with organisational credentials provides a secure environment that complies with the institution’s data protection and information security requirements. More detailed instructions for using Microsoft Copilot can be found at here.

• Do not use your Lapland UAS credentials when creating accounts for external AI applications that have not been approved by Lapland UAS. A wide range of AI applications is available, many of which are free of charge but require user registration.
• Follow the instructions of workplace partners. During practical training, workplace projects, commissioned assignments, and theses, comply with Lapland UAS guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence. In addition, follow the workplace partner’s instructions regarding the use of AI, information security, confidentiality, and data handling. If the instructions differ, clarify how the material may be processed before using AI.
• Protect personal data and privacy. Do not enter sensitive, confidential, or personally identifiable information (such as names, contact details, dates of birth, personal identity codes, student numbers, etc.) into AI applications or platforms. Research data containing confidential information must not be uploaded to AI applications.
• Respect the rights of research participants in RDI activities. You must obtain the consent of research participants or target groups if their personal data or research data is processed using AI. Such consent should be documented, for example, in the participant information sheet, privacy notice, data management plan, and research plan.
• Respect copyright. Do not upload copyrighted material to AI services unless such use is permitted and the service’s terms allow it.
• If an AI application does not use uploaded material for its own product development or model training, copyrighted material may be uploaded to the service where permitted. Microsoft Copilot provided through the organisation (when using organisational credentials) does not use user content as training data for foundation models.
• Verify information carefully. AI systems may generate inaccurate information, fabricated references, non-existent sources, one-sided perspectives, or biased responses.
• Disclose AI use when required. Follow the instructions of the course and assignment, as well as the Arene AI Traffic Light Model.
• Do not outsource your thinking. AI can support learning, but you are responsible for understanding, critically evaluating, and finalising your own work.
• Act ethically and promote equality. The use of AI must not harm others, discriminate against anyone, or compromise the fair and equal treatment of members of the higher education community.

We comply with the European Union AI Act, which prohibits the development of certain high-risk AI systems as part of studies (for example, within a thesis project). This means that students may not develop AI systems that make decisions with significant effects on individuals, assess competence, select employees, or make health-related determinations.

Lapland University of Applied Sciences promotes the responsible use of AI in collaboration with students and staff. You can contribute to this ongoing development by sharing your experiences of using AI, providing feedback, and reporting any errors, concerns, or inappropriate practices that you observe.

Research is conducted using information-gathering, research, and evaluation methods that comply with the criteria of scientific research and adhere to ethical principles (see, for example, the Finnish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, TENK, 2023, 2026).

The following aspects must be taken into consideration from the very beginning of the thesis process:

Planning

• You may freely use various AI services to familiarise yourself with the topic and to support idea generation and information retrieval.
• AI may be used during the preparation phase to help identify key themes, develop the structure of the work, and explore suitable research methods.  (see example 1, see example 2 [discussion can be translated]).

• You may use AI to support the identification of search terms, the planning of information searches, brainstorming, information retrieval, the structuring and understanding of complex topics, and problem-solving (see example 3 [discussion can be translated])
• For commissioned theses, students must also comply with the client organisation’s guidelines regarding the use of AI, information security, confidentiality, and data handling. In addition to following the guidelines of Lapland University of Applied Sciences, any specific requirements set by the commissioning organisation must be observed.

Implementation (including the analysis of research data)

• Describe in your data management plan how AI has been used if it has a significant impact on data collection, analysis, or research outcomes.
• As part of the methods description, explain which AI systems were used and what role they played in the processing, analysis, or generation of data.
• Do not provide confidential, restricted, or personal data to AI systems.
• Ensure that you remain familiar with and understand your data, even when using AI-assisted analysis.
• AI cannot replace the critical thinking required for the analysis and interpretation of research findings.

Creating Materials, Writing, and Referencing

• You are responsible for all material you produce.
• Transparent reporting of AI use is required in the text section of a thesis or written assignment. Any use of AI that has significantly influenced the implementation, results, or conclusions of a thesis or written assignment must be disclosed openly and transparently.
• The use of AI must comply with the principles of academic writing. The ideas, information, words, or other materials of others must not be presented without appropriate citation and acknowledgement.
• Always cite the original source. Every text has an author, whether an individual or an organisation, rather than a software application or AI tool. AI is not a source of scientific information, and AI-generated text must not be used directly in a thesis as an original source or presented as the student’s own thinking.
• The most reliable information is found in peer-reviewed research publications. The use of AI does not replace the skills required to search for, evaluate, and utilize scientific information. Sources suggested by AI must always be verified.
• AI may also be used for language revision and proofreading. Starting from 1 January 2026, AI should be used for language checking of thesis abstracts.
• A Finnish-language thesis includes two abstracts, one in Finnish and one in English. For theses completed on or after 1 January 2026, students are responsible for translating and checking the English-language abstract themselves, while the Finnish-language abstract is reviewed by a language and communication teacher. The use of the organisation’s approved Copilot service is recommended for translating abstracts. Students are responsible for ensuring that terminology is used consistently throughout the translation.
• An English-language thesis includes one English-language abstract. The English abstract is reviewed by a language and communication teacher. As an exception, Finnish-speaking students writing their thesis in English must prepare both an English and a Finnish abstract. In such cases, the Finnish abstract is reviewed by a language and communication teacher, while the student is responsible for checking the English abstract.
• The use of AI should be documented in the Introduction section of the thesis, or alternatively in the Methods section if AI has been incorporated into the research methodology. The description should specify which AI applications were used and how they were used. In other written assignments, a statement regarding AI use may be added, for example, at the end of the document.

Example 1

In this thesis, the author/authors used the AI tool Microsoft Copilot (Version 5) to support the development of the thesis structure, language editing, and the review of the abstract translation. The author/authors confirm that the thesis does not contain text generated by AI and that all original sources have been verified. The author/authors accept full responsibility for the content of the thesis.

Example 2

I used the AI tool [name of AI tool] for drafting text, generating ideas for the approach, and clarifying concepts. I independently revised the output, verified the information against original sources. I take full responsibility for the final content and references of the work.

Maturity test

The use of AI is not permitted in the maturity demonstration (maturity test). Students must complete the maturity demonstration independently without the assistance of AI tools or applications.

These guidelines are based on Artificial Intelligence in Research: Research Integrity and Ethical Principles (Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK, 2026).

The core principles of good research practice, namely reliability, honesty, respect, and accountability, also apply to the use of artificial intelligence in research. Responsibility for the content, conclusions, and trustworthiness of research, development and innovation (RDI) activities always remain with the researcher or author.

The ethical evaluation of AI use should cover the entire lifecycle of RDI activities, extending from the planning and funding application stage through the conduct and completion of the research, and, where applicable, to the future use and reuse of research data and results.

Planning and implementation of Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Activities

• Familiarise yourself with the use of AI before applying it in research, development, and innovation (RDI) activities.
• Assess whether the use of AI is appropriate for the project and the methods being employed. The key limitations and risks of the AI systems used must be understood in order to evaluate their impact on the reliability of the work. In addition, the terms of use of the systems and any changes to those terms must be taken into account.
• Always verify claims, sources, code, models, and other outputs generated by AI, and ensure their accuracy and methodological soundness. Quality assurance should be based on your own critical evaluation, peer review, and collaboration among researchers and experts. AI does not replace methodological expertise.
• AI may reproduce existing texts, and researchers must ensure that this does not inadvertently lead to plagiarism. Researchers should always cite the verified original sources.
• Do not input copyrighted material, such as unpublished manuscripts or research plans authored by other researchers or experts, into AI systems without appropriate permission.
• Properly acknowledge AI models, their outputs, trained neural networks, source code, and other model components when they form part of the research data or research results.

Data management and research data

• Describe in your data management plan how AI has been used if it has a significant role in data collection, analysis, or the generation of research results.
• Report, as part of the methods section, which AI systems were used and what role they played in the processing, analysis, or generation of data. This information should also be included in the metadata of the datasets archived and any datasets made openly available.
• Do not provide confidential, restricted, or personal data to AI systems.
• Ensure that you remain familiar with and understand your data, even when using AI-assisted analysis. You are responsible for assessing the suitability, limitations, and potential biases of AI-generated or AI-modified data. You should also document how the data was generated or how they were modified through the use of AI.
• Please note that AI cannot replace the critical thinking required in the analysis and interpretation of research results.
• Ensure that research data and materials generated with the assistance of AI are archived and preserved in a manner that enables the use of AI to be identified transparently and reliably in the future. This supports reproducibility, accountability, and the long-term usability of research outputs.

Publishing and Communication

• AI should not be credited as an author of a publication. Authorship requires both ethical and scientific responsibility, which AI systems cannot assume. In addition, AI is not a legal person and therefore cannot hold or be assigned copyright. It should also be recognised that AI-generated outputs may contain copyrighted material.
• Disclose the use of AI transparently in publications, project proposals, and communications when its use has a significant influence on the content, results, or interpretation of the work.
• Describe the role and purpose of AI in research clearly and accurately, including any potential limitations, risks, or adverse effects associated with its use.
• Comply with the specific guidelines and policies of funders and publishers regarding the use of AI in research, publishing, and related communications.