This pilot is part of our wider AI in Assessment Pilot for 2025–26. If you haven’t already, we recommend starting with the AI in Assessment Pilot blog to understand the context of the overarching project.
In this blog, you’ll find out:
- About Graide
- What the pilot will involve
- What’s expected of pilot participants
About Graide
Graide is an AI-powered assessment platform designed to support educators with the marking and feedback process.
The platform’s role is to learn how educators mark and give feedback, which it does using classification-based AI, rather than generative AI. As educators use the platform to mark, annotate or give feedback on students’ work, the platform develops an AI model that maps student input to staff responses. This means that as more pieces of work are marked, Graide can start to anticipate what feedback/marks will be given and so can make recommendations to the member of staff. This process can lead to increases in both productivity and consistency, enabling students to get better feedback sooner.
All recommendations are reviewed and confirmed by the educator before they are returned to students, ensuring a human remains in control at all times.
Graide was previously piloted by Jisc during the 2022-23 academic year. At that point, the product was focused on numerical subjects such as maths and engineering, however, it now has the functionality to mark short and long text submissions – meaning it can be used across a much wider range of subjects.
Pilot Overview
The pilot will run from September 2025 to August 2026 and will include 8 institutions (colleges or universities).
Each participating institution will choose a consecutive 6-month window within the 2025-26 academic year in which to actively use Graide.
Graide can be used as a standalone platform as part of this pilot. Integration with your VLE and/or LMS may be possible via LTI 1.3, which allows for integrations with platforms including Blackboard, Moodle, Brightspace, Canvas, and Aptem.
Students can input their work directly into Graide or student work can be uploaded into Graide separately. If the former route is chosen, participating students will also have Graide accounts created.
Who Will Do What?
Staff Users
Staff users will use Graide to mark student work and provide feedback. We recommend staff users begin the pilot with a clear plan for which modules and in which assessments they intend to use Graide.
Their responsibilities are to:
- Attend the initial kick-off call with Graide’s customer success team
- Attend regular catch-up sessions with Graide (weekly at the beginning of the pilot, and then fortnightly)
- Mark at least one set of assignments using Graide
- Participate in pilot evaluation activities (focus groups and/or surveys)
They are invited to attend monthly community sessions but are not required to do so.
Project Leads
Project Leads will coordinate their institution’s participation in the Graide pilot. They will act as key points of contact for Jisc and Graide, and will provide support to staff users throughout the pilot.
Their responsibilities are to:
- Ensure the Pilot Participant Agreement gets signed
- Attend the initial kick-off call with Graide’s customer success team
- Confirm which 6-month window the institution will use for the pilot
- Coordinate the creation of accounts for staff and students (if students will use Graide directly)
- Ensure relevant rubrics, assignment settings, and assessment materials are prepared and uploaded
- Attend live training sessions on platform admin and marking workflows
- Support staff users in using the platform effectively, and help troubleshoot minor issues
- Attend fortnightly catch-up calls with Graide and Jisc (weekly during the set up phase)
- Complete fortnightly progress updates
- Organise and support pilot evaluation activities, including staff/student focus groups and survey distribution
Project Leads may also act as staff users during the pilot, if appropriate.
Project Sponsors
Project Sponsors are there to provide strategic support and make sure the pilot runs smoothly. They’ll help by:
- Ensuring the Pilot Participation Agreement is signed
- Ensuring institutional capacity and engagement
- Supporting the Project Lead
- Supporting the evaluation activities
Sponsors are encouraged to attend the kick-off session. They are invited but not required to attend the other sessions.
Technical staff
Technical staff may be involved if an institution opts to integrate Graide with their VLE. Their responsibilities include:
- Supporting LTI 1.3 integration (if required)
Where Graide Works Best
Graide is designed for a wide range of assessment types, including:
- Maths questions and structured short answers
- Essays and reports
- Competency-based assignments
- Summative and formative tasks
It is particularly effective in:
- STEM subjects (e.g. Mathematics, Physics, Engineering)
- Business and Health Sciences
- Apprenticeships and vocational education (successes have been seen at Levels 3, 5, and 7)
However, it is not recommended for:
- Assignments involving spreadsheet formulae
- Video or audio assessments
- Code-based tasks
- Small cohorts (recommended minimum: 50; ideal: 100+ learners.)
What to Expect During the Pilot
Participants will be selected before the end of the 2024-25 academic year.
Selected participants will then be issued a Pilot Participant Agreement to sign before the end of September 2025.
Next, institutions will begin with a kick-off call involving Graide’s customer success team, where goals, roles, and next steps will be agreed. During this call we will also discuss during which 6-month period you intend to pilot Graide, and ask that this be confirmed shortly after the session.
The pilot will then progress through the following stages:
Setup Phase
- The project lead will coordinate the creation of accounts for participating staff and students
- Project leads and staff users will receive training on how to set up assignments and configure rubrics
- Project leads and staff users will receive training on how to use the platform effectively
- With the support of Graide, Jisc and staff users, the project lead will oversee the configuration of rubrics, assignment settings, and (if needed) VLE integration
Ongoing Support and Usage
- Project leads and staff users will attend regular catch-up calls with Graide and Jisc (fortnightly, weekly at start)
- Access to Graide support via email, ticketing, and a dedicated customer success contact
Evaluation Activities
- Project leads will organise focus groups for staff and students, and encourage completion of evaluation surveys amongst staff and students
- Project leads and staff users will attend focus groups, and complete evaluation surveys
Training & Support
Live Sessions
- Kick-off call with Graide’s customer success team – this is to understand each institution’s aims and plans, and should be attended by project leads, staff users, and if possible, the project sponsor
- Sessions focused on: using Graide effectively for marking, admin training
Ongoing Support
- Fortnightly catch-up calls
- Weekly calls in the initial phase as needed
- Email support with ticketing system
- Access to help videos, FAQ articles, and customer success contact
Evaluation: April 2026
All participating institutions will contribute to the pilot evaluation, which includes:
- Surveys and group interviews with staff and students
- Input from Project Leads and Sponsors to help coordinate participation
The aims of the evaluation are to:
- Understand Graide’s impact on marking and feedback workload
- Capture different stakeholder views on AI in assessment
- Assess Graide’s effectiveness and suitability
- Help Jisc improve future pilots
Post-Pilot: What Happens Next?
There’s no obligation to subscribe after the pilot, but we know many participants want an idea of costs before committing to a pilot.
Jisc has Chest Agreements in place for both universities and colleges. To find out details, contact your institution’s procurement team who will be able to access the Chest site and find the full details.
Summary of Pilot Commitments
Project Leads
Before the pilot:
- Attend the kick-off call with Graide’s customer success team
- Confirm the institution’s 6-month pilot window
- Coordinate the creation of staff and student accounts (if applicable)
- Attend live training sessions on admin setup and marking workflows
- Ensure relevant rubrics, assignments, and marking guides are prepared and uploaded
During the pilot:
- Support staff users in using Graide effectively
- Act as the key point of contact for Jisc and Graide
- Attend regular catch-up calls (weekly during setup, then fortnightly)
- Complete fortnightly progress updates
- Attend monthly pilot community sessions
- Troubleshoot or escalate basic issues as needed
During evaluation:
- Organise and coordinate staff and student focus groups
- Encourage completion of evaluation surveys across participating roles
Staff Users
Before the pilot:
- Attend the kick-off call with the customer success team
- Identify the modules and assessments they will use Graide with
- Attend relevant training sessions on marking workflows and setting up Graide
During the pilot:
- Attend regular catch-up calls (weekly at first, then fortnightly)
- Optional: join monthly community sessions
During evaluation:
- Attend a focus group
- Complete an end-of-pilot survey
Project Sponsors
Before the pilot:
- Ensure the Pilot Participation Agreement is signed
- Confirm internal readiness and capacity for participation
- (Optional) Attend the kick-off session
During the pilot:
- Provide strategic oversight and support to the Project Lead
- Support pilot visibility and engagement across the institution
During evaluation:
- Encourage and support participation in evaluation activities
Technical Staff
(If VLE integration is required):
- Support the LTI 1.3 integration between Graide and the institution’s VLE
- Liaise with Graide’s technical team to enable setup
- Troubleshoot access or integration issues, if they arise
Note: If no integration is needed, involvement from technical staff may be minimal.
How to Apply
Applications are open until 20th June 2025. To express your interest, complete the application form linked in the main AI in Assessment Pilot blog
If you’re not selected for a product-based pilot, you’ll be invited to join our pilot of general-purpose productivity tools.
If your institution would like to apply but the submission timeline is unfeasible then please get in touch with us at ai@jisc.ac.uk
Further Resources
Here’s a video demo of Graide.
And here is a video of Alison Gibson, Head of Digital Education (CoSS and Assessment team) at University of Birmingham talking the about benefits of Graide at DigiFest 2025
Get in Touch
For questions relating to the Graide platform, please get in touch with contact@graide.co.uk
For anything else, please reach out to ai@jisc.ac.uk
Find out more by visiting our Artificial Intelligence page to view publications and resources, join us for events and discover what AI has to offer through our range of interactive online demos.
Join our AI in Education communities to stay up to date and engage with other members.
Get in touch with the team directly at AI@jisc.ac.uk
