Penn State Taps IBM to Develop AI Virtual Assistant to Foster Success for Student Body

Rhea-AI Summary

IBM has announced a collaboration with Penn State to develop MyResource, an AI-powered student concierge built using watsonx technology. The system, scheduled to launch in fall 2025, will serve nearly 90,000 Penn State students by providing streamlined access to campus resources including academic advising, health and wellness, and financial aid services.

The initiative arose from student leaders identifying needs for improved access to campus services, supported by university analysis. IBM consultants are utilizing watsonx Assistant's conversational AI capabilities and watsonx.ai for hosting and training foundation models with Penn State's data. The system will include AI guardrails to detect and remove potentially harmful language or sensitive data, while watsonx Discovery will enhance response quality and accuracy.

IBM plans to expand this solution to other U.S. higher education institutions in the future.

Positive

• New business partnership with major educational institution Penn State
• Potential for expansion to other U.S. higher education institutions
• Practical implementation of watsonx AI technology in education sector

Negative

• None.

Insights

Enterprise Technology Analyst

This strategic collaboration marks IBM's calculated entry into the $342 billion global education technology market, with the Penn State implementation serving as a high-profile proof of concept for their watsonx AI portfolio. The project's scope, covering 90,000 students, provides IBM with valuable large-scale deployment experience and data that will be important for refining their AI models for the education sector.

The multi-product integration (watsonx Assistant, watsonx.ai, and watsonx Discovery) demonstrates IBM's ability to deliver comprehensive AI solutions, potentially creating significant barriers to entry for competitors. This is particularly important as the education sector increasingly embraces AI technology, with the student success market alone estimated at $1.1 billion annually.

The planned expansion to other higher education institutions signals IBM's intent to establish a scalable, repeatable revenue stream through licensing and implementation services. With over 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. alone, the potential for recurring revenue is substantial. Each implementation could generate both upfront professional services revenue and ongoing subscription fees for AI model hosting and maintenance.

This move also strengthens IBM's competitive position against other enterprise AI providers by:

• Establishing early market presence in the education sector before competitors can gain significant traction
• Creating valuable reference cases with prestigious institutions
• Developing sector-specific AI models that can be refined and redeployed efficiently
• Building a moat through accumulated education-specific data and use cases

The timing is particularly strategic, as institutions are actively seeking AI solutions to improve student outcomes and operational efficiency. By focusing on student success and resource accessibility, IBM is addressing a critical need while positioning itself as a trusted partner in education technology transformation.

MyResource student concierge is being developed with watsonx, IBM's portfolio of AI products

ARMONK, N.Y., Feb. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced its collaboration with Penn State, consistently ranked among the top six percent of the world's universities, to build and deploy MyResource, a student concierge built with watsonx, IBM's portfolio of AI products. The generative AI-powered assistant is meant to streamline details about campus resources and how to seek them when it launches, expected in the fall semester, to the nearly 90,000 Penn State students.

The project stems from Penn State student leaders identifying a need for improved access to campus services, such as academic advising, health and wellness, and financial aid, while an analysis by the university discovered similar findings. In listening to students, Penn State and IBM are collaborating to create a concierge to help students navigate the many resources available to them, help increase support, and further advance satisfaction for the student body.

"At Penn State, student success is our priority, and this is an exciting step toward continuing to enhance the lives and experiences of students across our University," said Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi. "We're thrilled to collaborate with IBM to leverage advancements like generative AI, a critical tool to help us create a more student-centered experience, remove barriers, improve retention rates and further achieve a sense of belonging for all Penn Staters by allowing our students to navigate our institution seamlessly and intuitively."

"IBM is honored to co-create a solution with Penn State that will play a significant role in its goal to advance engagement from students through an AI-infused assistant," said IBM General Manager, Public Sector Frank Attaie. "Penn State students want quicker access to the important resources they need to be successful during their college experience and beyond. By integrating IBM's AI, Penn State can unlock new possibilities for its students."

IBM consultants and experts are leveraging the conversational AI capabilities of watsonx Assistant to build MyResource. Watsonx.ai will be used to host, train and tune foundation models with data provided by Penn State. This will help the system promptly generate answers and recommendations with AI guardrails to detect and remove potentially harmful language or sensitive data. The tool will also use the conversational search capabilities within watsonx Discovery to help improve the quality and accuracy of the responses given by MyResource.

As part of this collaboration, IBM plans to bring this solution to other higher education institutions in the United States.

About IBM
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. More than 4,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

Visit ibm.com for more information.

About Penn State
Penn State is a multi-campus, land-grant, public research university that educates students from around the world and supports individuals and communities through teaching, research and service. Penn State is an R1, a classification given by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Higher Education to the very best research universities in America, reaching a record $1.337 billion in research expenditures during fiscal year 2023-24. As Pennsylvania's land-grant university, Penn State provides unparalleled access to education and public service to support the citizens of the commonwealth and beyond. The University is committed to providing an abundance of opportunities to help students succeed inside and outside the classroom and to prepare them for in-demand careers after graduation. Visit psu.edu to learn more.

Contact: 
IBM
Laura Gallardo
Laura.Gallardo1@ibm.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/penn-state-taps-ibm-to-develop-ai-virtual-assistant-to-foster-success-for-student-body-302377974.html

SOURCE IBM

FAQ

When will IBM's MyResource AI assistant launch at Penn State?

IBM's MyResource AI assistant is expected to launch at Penn State in the fall semester of 2025.

How many students will IBM's MyResource system serve at Penn State?

The IBM MyResource system will serve nearly 90,000 Penn State students.

What IBM technology is being used to develop the Penn State AI assistant?

The AI assistant is being developed using IBM's watsonx portfolio, including watsonx Assistant for conversational AI and watsonx.ai for hosting and training foundation models.

What services will IBM's MyResource provide to Penn State students?

IBM's MyResource will provide access to campus services including academic advising, health and wellness, and financial aid information.

Will IBM expand the MyResource AI assistant to other universities?

Yes, IBM plans to bring the MyResource solution to other higher education institutions in the United States.