Western Sydney University has given every staff member and research candidate access to Microsoft 365 Copilot, after a 100-user pilot.
Image credit: Western Sydney University.
The university said that the pilot had reduced staff time spent on repetitive and low value tasks.
It led to a broader deployment being approved for “every staff member, including casuals, and higher degree research candidates,” the university said in a statement.
Access was given to all staff from July 16.
The university suggested that time saved using the tool could be put into “more … focus on higher-value teaching, research and professional work.”
Vice-chancellor and president George Williams said that “by providing every staff member with access to Microsoft Copilot, we’re ensuring our people have the skills and confidence to use AI effectively and securely.
“When we free our educators from time-consuming, repetitive tasks, we give them back what matters most: time with their students,” he said.
The Copilot deployment builds on a memorandum of understanding that the university signed with Microsoft in late 2025.
Improving staff experience was one aspect of the memorandum.
Microsoft said that it will now provide the university “additional support, assisting with staff training and effective adoption, including capability development in areas such as agentic AI, curriculum design and student engagement.”
