AI at Herzen University Learns to Speak in a Professor’s Voice
Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia has launched three pilot projects using artificial intelligence.
The “Voiceover” project converts lectures and publications into audio versions using locally run AI models. The system reproduces a professor’s voice and speaking style, making materials more accessible to students with visual impairments. Running the model locally also helps protect confidential data.
“Career Guidance” is a conversational AI assistant for teenagers and their parents, being developed at the university’s Institute of Psychology. It is designed to help students explore career options without treating them as subjects of a diagnostic assessment, but rather as active participants in their own choices.
The “AI Archivist” project enables semantic search across the university’s digital collections. It is being developed in collaboration with the Institute of History and Social Sciences.
Sergey Tarasov, rector of Herzen State Pedagogical University, emphasized that the university wants to integrate AI into teaching and learning safely and effectively. The university has established a Center for AI Tools, is building a prompt library for faculty, and has expert councils that address the ethics of using neural networks. A joint laboratory is also planned with the Chinese National Academy of Educational Sciences.
