The “Xat UV” initiative is part of the institutional project UVInformation and was launches on 4th May 2020, the app has been working on a BETA version so far. According to the head of the Web and Marketing Unit of the Universitat de València (UWM), Josep Gonzalbo, “this system, which is based in a mixed way on artificial intelligence and personalised, traceable and specialised attention, has been ‘learning’ from users over these months and is now ready for massive use”. The UWM has been the unit in charge of the app development.

Thus, before the enrolment process for new students, which will take place on 29th, 30th and 31st, XatUV is available to anyone who has doubts, mainly in areas related to studies at the Universitat de València – degrees, master’s degrees and doctoral programmes –, but also with Erasmus + and International Programmes, UV Work Placements, UVJobs, UVEntrepreneurships, UVSports and ICT UV Support Center.

"The publication of this project, which we have been preparing for months now and which the situation caused by COVID-19 has forced us to move forward, puts the Universitat de València as a national reference in the management of care and information in the university community," said the Universitat de València's Principal, Maria Vicenta Mestre. "With this step forward, the UV continues the digital transformation of the public service paradigm of the administration in the face of the traditional model of communication between citizens and the administration. Thus,  providing users with an environment of communication security and traceability of consultations, with its own system and attended directly by specialized personnel," said the Director of the Principal's Office, Marketing and Institutional Communication, Joan Enric Ubeda.

As described by the UWM, XatUV is: "an automated hybrid interaction tool with artificial intelligence (bot) and online agents with attention in three languages (Valencian, Spanish and English)" that aims to "generate a synchronous communication channel for the attention of students, future students and graduates".

As explained by UWM, "Clicking on the icon displays a chat window that allows interaction. If the automatic answer is not satisfactory, there is the option 'I want to talk to an agent', and an online agent is automatically assigned to the area previously chosen by the user. At this point the synchronous interaction between the UV agent and the user begins. The user can interact 24 hours a day, every day of the week, for as long as he or she wants. They can also close the chat window with the bot and can ask any question as many times as they want”.

In this sense, the UWM, which is technically coordinating the project, reports an already extensive implementation process of the blue dialogue icon to the following University websites, which can be extended in the near future:

• UV Institutional Website
• Students Service
• SEDI
• Doctoral School
• Computer Service
• International Relations Service
• UVJob
• UVEntrepreneurships
• ADEIT - Internships
• Libraries
• UVSports

The Principal of the UV thanked “the important effort and involvement of all the people who, from the different services and structures of the UV, are making this new way of relating to the University possible through technology applied to the care of people, who are the centre of university management”.

________

This information has been prepared by the Principal’s Office in collaboration with the Universitat de València’s Web and Marketing Unit.