A Scottish start-up which aims to tackle the rising academic misuse of artificial intelligence has secured £250,000 in funding from UK Research and Innovation.

Cyberhare Solutions, a University of the West of Scotland (UWS) venture, has developed IntegraGuard, an academic integrity platform designed to help universities detect and manage AI misconduct using ‘evidence-based insights’.

Built at UWS and now being trialled across several other UK universities, IntegraGuard works differently from traditional academic plagiarism detectors – instead of flagging suspicious text, the system provides a more detailed analysis of the text, looking for markers such as fake references to map out AI use in essays.

According to Cyberhare, the tool has been developed to work alongside teaching staff, allowing lecturers to look at the evidence and overrule any suggestions the system may make, which it said would provide students with a fair marking process.

The firm claims that the platform has already reduced staff time on misconduct cases by up to 90% in trials at UWS, which could result in huge time savings if distributed across the higher education sector.

A recent investigation by the Guardian found almost 7,000 cases of AI-related misconduct at UK universities over the 2023/24 academic year. That’s equivalent to more than five students in every thousand using AI to cheat in some way, a sharp rise from the 1.6 cases per 1,000 over 2022/23, but experts agree the number of cases slipping through undetected is likely significantly higher.

Some universities have been hit particularly hard. According to figures from the Higher Education Policy Institute, since the public launch of genAI, Abertay University experienced a 411% increase in cases of student misconduct, while instances at Glasgow Caledonian University jumped from 422 over 2020/21 to 711 in 2022/23.

Added together over all the public universities in the UK, investigating these cases of AI dishonesty costs the economy £12.4 million per year.

Recommended reading

• UK Uni Students Facing ‘Pay-to-Play’ AI Divide
• AI Course Enrolment Skyrockets 453% in 5 Years
• New Scheme Supports Edinburgh Uni’s “Next Generation of AI Experts”

“Generative AI has completely changed the landscape for universities,” said Dr Stephen Langston, founder and CEO of Cyberhare Solutions.

“Older detection systems weren’t designed for this new reality and are leaving staff, students and institutions exposed. IntegraGuard is about fairness, transparency and trust. It’s about giving educators evidence they can stand by, while freeing up huge amounts of staff time. 

“This grant from UKRI is a game-changer for us, allowing us to bring a credible solution to the market when it’s most needed.”

The £250,000 UKRI award will help Cyberhare finalise product development for commercial launch next year, expand pilots, and prepare for global rollout. 

The company also has plans to extend its platform beyond universities into corporate HR, compliance, healthcare and financial services, where integrity and transparency are also under pressure.