ExamineAI, developed in partnership between Finnish start-up Edunation and Headai, uses artificial intelligence to assist students in choosing a university and program and seeks to overhaul the application process by measuring motivation and ability to learn, rather than “ability to memorise specific information”.

“AI will be reflecting into all parts of all of our lives in many different sectors. It’s hard to predict yet even how big a thing it will be,” Edunation co-founder Harri Suominen said.

“There’s room in higher education, applications and even in the course delivery and in talent recognition and matchmaking for the most suitable universities and businesses.”

Suominen told The PIE News that Edunation, which has set a target to more than triple the number of international students in Finland by 2020, was motivated to develop the app both to create a Tinder-like matchmaking service between students and institutions, and to speed up the admissions process.

Within ExamineAI, students interact with a built-in AI interface to learn on a topic and answer questions, which are then used to create a profile, helping them understand who they are, what their interests are, their goals and then matches them with institutions that best meet those needs.

“There’s room in higher education, applications and even in the course delivery [for AI]”

Significantly, the app also allows students to undertake an entrance exam that measures their ability to learn rather than what they’ve learned.

“The main thing is that you need to go through the whole exam which is already an academic course itself. Once you have accomplished it, the test will give you the result at how well you understood what you were studying,” Suominen said.

Currently, applications to Finnish institutions take place over rounds, which Suominen said worked well for domestic students, but meant international students often had to wait for months before being accepted into a university. If the app becomes an accepted means to apply to a university application, it will introduce rolling admissions into the country for the first time.

Finland recently introduced tuition fees for international students, which appear to have dampened growth, according to several analysts.