A new AI-driven tool on the UCLH and UCL Joint Research Office (JRO) website makes it easier for visitors to the site to find the information they need.
The JRO Bot aims to provide investigators with accurate, detailed and up-to-date answers to questions about R&D approvals processes in real time - reducing the need for back-and-forth email correspondence between investigators and JRO staff.
The JRO Bot is accessible from each page of the JRO website. Access the JRO Bot.
The development of the bot for the JRO involved joint working between UCL academics and JRO teams. UCL’s Professor Parashkev Nachev led on the development.
The team created the Bot to support the specific needs of visitors to the JRO website. Because of the intricacies and nuances of the research approvals systems, an ‘off-the-shelf’ chatbot would not have worked.
The tool has been through several weeks of testing.
The development of the bot reflects a broader aim with the Research Directorate to use technology, and specifically AI, to enhance R&D operations.
Excellence in R&D operations is key to excellence in research at UCLH and UCL.
For any queries not satisfactorily answered by the Bot, JRO staff remain on hand for any queries from investigators.
The Bot does not collect or store information inputted into it.
