AI Chatbots at the University of Kassel

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At the University of Kassel’s administrative office, we have developed two AI-powered specialist bots and made them available as open source for others to use. They assist employees with specific administrative tasks, run on a platform in our own data center, process data exclusively within the EU, and are accessible only from the university network.

On this page

Access to the chatbots

The chatbots are available only to employees of the University of Kassel and can be accessed only from the university network (university Wi-Fi or VPN). Access from outside the network is not possible.

For employees of the University of Kassel

Would you like to use the chatbots or find out what you're allowed to type?

For Other Colleges and Universities and Interested Parties

Would you like to know how our chatbots are built, or set up a similar chatbot at your organization?

Our Chatbots

  • KIRA Chatbot
    Supports the review and further development of degree program documents, for example, by identifying regulatory gaps, inconsistencies, and formal requirements.
    Learn more
  • Chatbot SECURE
    Provides an initial overview of export controls and research security and helps identify areas requiring further review.
    Learn more

Purpose and Origins

The goal of
is to make it easier for researchers to access specialized administrative expertise. Administrative professionals gain more time for in-depth consulting. Responsibility for decisions remains with the appropriate individuals.


’s Origins: The applications were developed during our AI-focused “FrAItage” sessions. Colleagues identified specific problems from their daily work and, drawing on their subject-matter expertise, creativity, and AI expertise, developed their own solutions. Nina Felgen, Diema Janakat, and Heiko Wolf describe this approach in their article “From a Single Bot to an AI Ecosystem” in the journal “Qualität in der Wissenschaft.” A central idea: broadening access to expert knowledge and clearly establishing responsibility.

Our Principles

  • In-house operation: The chat interface runs in the University of Kassel’s data center.
  • Data remains in the EU: The language models are hosted by European service providers. User input is not used to train AI models. •
  • Humans make the decisions: The chatbots provide support but do not make decisions. They openly state what they cannot do.

Build It Yourself: Open-Source Resources

Other universities are invited to reuse the bots, adapt them to their specific circumstances, and collaborate on their further development. To this end, we are making selected resources related to our chatbots available on GitHub under the Apache License. The resources are licensed under the Apache License 2.0. Use is at your own risk.

Contact

If you use these resources or have any questions about them, please feel free to email us at ki[at]uni-kassel[dot]de.