Turnitin, a global leader in upholding academic integrity, recently released new survey findings on the impacts of AI in education. Commissioned by Turnitin* and conducted by Vanson Bourne, the survey includes data and insights from 3500 students, educators and academic administrators across six countries, including India (700). Responses to the online survey revealed that while the education community is generally positive about the impacts of AI in education, the line between “using AI to enhance students’ learning” and “cheating” is still undefined.
“Key learnings from our research and continued engagement with the academic community across regions help inform development of future solutions, and increase the value of our current solutions,” said Turnitin chief product officer, Annie Chechitelli. “To provide the right support for the global education community, we have to better understand how technologies, like AI, are used to either support or shortcut learning around the world.”
Key takeaways from Crossroads: Navigating the Intersection of AI and Academia in India
93% of survey respondents in India feel positive about the impacts that AI is having on education. This is the highest reported positive outlook on the impact of AI on education across the regions/countries surveyed.
85% of survey respondents in India say the availability and volume of AI is overwhelming. Interestingly, while respondents in India are the most positive about the impact of AI, they also reported being the most overwhelmed by its volume and availability.
50% of survey respondents in India say they don’t know how to get the most benefit from AI in their role/studies. This is slightly higher than the response across all survey respondents (45%).
“The positivity around the impacts that AI is having on education in India presents an exciting opportunity for students, educators and academic administrators throughout the region to lean into new advancements in technology,” said Chaitali Moitra, Regional Director, Turnitin South Asia. “It is important to focus on helping the education community feel supported and prepared to explore the benefits that AI can have on the learning environment.”
While continued expansion of AI use in education is not a surprise, students outpacing all other surveyed groups (educators and academic administrators) in their concerns around AI is less expected. 64% of students reported being worried about the use of AI within education, compared to 50% of educators and 41% of academic administrators across Australia/New Zealand, India, Mexico, United Kingdom/Ireland, and the United States.
“Our research, across all countries and surveyed groups, highlights a pivotal moment in academia,” said David Gallichan, Business Strategy & Partnerships Lead at Vanson Bourne. “While there is clear optimism about AI’s potential, there is also significant concern—particularly among students—about its misuse.”
*Turnitin was a partner in providing compensation to conduct Vanson Bourne’s research. **Download the full report – Crossroads: Navigating the Intersection of AI and Academia.
Methodology Turnitin commissioned Vanson Bourne to survey a total of 3,500 respondents, including academic administrators (500), educators (500) and students (2,500) in August 2024, with interviews in Australia (350)/New Zealand (350), India (700), Mexico (700), U.K. / Ireland (700), and the U.S. (700). The academic administrators and educators were from both secondary (500) and higher education institutions (500), whilst students were from higher education institutions, studying both full time (2,064) and part time (436). The survey was conducted online using a rigorous multi-level screening process to ensure that only suitable candidates were given the opportunity to participate.
