ZotGPT Academy: Empowering UCI Faculty and Staff with AI Skills



March 25, 2025
By: Antruong Thuy Nguyen

As generative AI is transforming business and education worldwide, UCI is at the forefront of this development, ensuring that faculty and staff have the knowledge and resources to integrate AI into their work in the most relevant ways. Led by Dominic Slauson, Business Systems Analyst for ZotGPT, ZotGPT Academy is a hands-on training program designed to upskill the UCI community in generative AI. The academy provides structured learning to equip faculty and staff with knowledge on how to explore generative AI and use it for their own work and research.

Making AI Competency Attainable For All
While AI tools are more accessible than ever, understanding how to use them effectively is key.; Many faculty and staff are aware of AI but either haven't experimented with it or aren't comfortable enough to know how to utilize it to enhance their work productivity. The academy provides a controlled space to ease into AI usage while emphasizing ethical considerations and a human-in-the-loop approach. The modules are broken into concise, 30-minute segments, ensuring learners can complete the courses at their own pace at times that fit into their busy schedules.

"Our UCI community is fortunate to have access to a comprehensive suite of AI tools in ZotGPT," says Slauson. "But these tools really don't mean much if our community doesn't have the knowledge to leverage them properly. ZotGPT Academy bridges this gap, ensuring users can confidently experiment with AI and integrate it into their daily lives."

ZotGPT Academy features three interactive 30-minute modules. These flexible, digestible modules allow participants to start based on their needs.

  • Foundational AI Literacy – Learn AI basics and fundamental capabilities.
  • Prompt Engineering – Craft effective prompts for better AI responses.
  • AI in Action – Explore real-world applications for faculty and staff.

Introducing the ZotGPT Prompt Library
In addition to the release of the ZotGPT Academy learning modules, UC's ZotGPT team also launched a prompt library for the campus community to utilize as they continue exploring AI. The ZotGPT Prompt Library offers curated, ready to use prompts to help faculty and staff unlock the potential of AI in their day to day work processes. The library provides practical examples to streamline AI interactions whether it be for lesson planning, research assistance, administrative tasks, and more.

The prompt library was made with the purpose of simplifying this process by providing structured examples that users can even customize to their own needs. Dominic explains, "My goal in creating the academy was to provide a space where faculty and staff could ease into experimentation through practical examples that resonate with our community and the kind of work they do."

The prompt library does just that, offering guidance to help users see what's possible with AI. The library will continue expanding as ZotGPT evolves, ensuring that UCI's community stays ahead.

Looking Ahead
The Academy has already seen promising interest from the Anteater community, with over 300 learners taking a course in its first month of availability. ZotGPT Academy also supports UCI's broader AI literacy and innovation goals and adds to an already robust suite of resources for the community.

"As the technology landscape keeps rapidly evolving, we will continue to do everything we can to ensure our faculty, staff and students have access to the training and tools they need to remain competent and thriving," says Chief Digital Officer Tom Andriola.

The three current modules available in ZotGPT Academy are just the beginning. Future plans include advanced AI topics, video tutorials, and interactive workshops.

Both the The ZotGPT Academy and the Prompt Library are available now for faculty and staff to explore on the ZotGPT website.