BuddyGPT

BuddyGPT is an innovation project that aims to connect conversational AI with Learning Management Systems (such as Canvas) to provide quick and accurate answers about modules and courses. Within the project, a wide range of features has been designed to ground chatbot functionality in educational theories, thereby supporting effective mechanisms underlying learning processes.

The first prototype of BuddyGPT has been successfully piloted within a joint module (M3 – Business Process Analytics) across two educational programmes—Industrial Engineering and Management (B-IEM) and Business Information Technology (B-BIT) at the University of Twente—with over 150 students participating in the evaluation.

BuddyJ is a lightweight, private companion to BuddyGPT, designed for local deployment on a user’s laptop. It enables intelligent question-answering over a curated, smaller set of resources, making it ideal for personal, course-level, or project-specific use. By operating locally, BuddyJ supports data privacy, fast access (cloud model), and offline capabilities (local model), while retaining the core feedback-driven philosophy of the BuddyGPT ecosystem.

With support from BMSLab, a testable demo version of the Course Assistant is available for exploration. This version uses the local private companion BuddyJ, which is a pre-configured to the M3 – Business Process Analytics module. For privacy and compliance reasons, the demo is connected to a limited, curated set of resources within the module, including the module homepage, module manual, and selected course pages. It does not have access to course files or administrative pages through which additional courses or resources can be configured. Access to the demo requires being on the UT network or connected via VPN.

To configure BuddyGPT for your own course, or to participate in testing that informs ongoing research, please contact Gayane Sedrakyan by email.

Thesis topics related to the project are available, and research collaborations are warmly welcomed.