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Student Microsoft 365 Copilot rollout: timeline

09 Nov 2026

Full student rollout confirmed for Semester 1, 2027/28, with an early group helping us test, learn and adapt beforehand

2 people laughing with trees in the background

Following our earlier announcement about extending Microsoft 365 Copilot to students, we can now confirm that student rollout will take place in Semester 1, 2027/28.

Shaped by students and colleagues

Over the summer we have worked closely with our students and academic colleagues to understand what needs to be in place ahead of a wider Microsoft Copilot student rollout.

Both have highlighted the importance of clear guidance on using AI in learning and assessment, and colleagues have made specific reference to guidance that reflects different disciplines and supports critical, responsible and ethical use.

A Semester 1 launch in 2027/28 will allow teams the time to review assessments and course unit content, and create space for wider conversations about AI in teaching and learning. Guidance will help to put the AI in Teaching and Learning Policy into practice across our courses, with tailored support that reflects our different disciplines.

Testing and learning with an early group

During Semester 2, 2026/27, a group of students and teaching colleagues from selected programmes will start to test Microsoft 365 Copilot. Working together, they will begin to trial the system in a live teaching and learning environment. This pilot will help us understand what works, what needs to change, and what support both our students and colleagues need.

We’ll use their feedback to test and adapt guidance, learning resources and support, and accessibility arrangements ahead of the full rollout in Semester 1, 2027/28.

Copilot Chat is available to students now

In the meantime, all students can continue to use Copilot Chat through their University account. This AI chat tool can be used to answer questions using information from the web and any files students choose to upload, for example, to explore a topic, plan revision or summarise their notes.

The forthcoming rollout will provide the additional Microsoft 365 Copilot features, including working across emails, chats, meetings and files users have permission to access.

To get started, students can open Copilot Chat and sign in with their University email address and password.

Signing in with their University account means Microsoft’s organisational data protections apply, and their prompts and responses are not used to train its underlying AI models.

Helpful resources for colleagues and students

Colleagues can find a simple explanation of the differences between the two tools on our SharePoint page: Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot: what's the difference?

When supporting students, please share our separate student explainer (PDF). This explains what students can use now, what's planned for the future and includes practical tips for getting started.

What next?

We’ll share more information about the early group of adopters over the coming weeks. For now, please help students understand that Copilot Chat is already available through their University account. Share the student explainer above and direct them to Student Copilot Support for guidance on responsible use and assessment.

Separately, teaching colleagues can also review our critical AI study skills page and let us know how they plan to use them in their teaching through a short feedback form.

Further guidance