AI Adoption at Higher Education Institutions: A Call for Designated AI Management

Artificial intelligence is transforming teaching, learning and administration in higher education institutions (HEIs), yet responsibility for its governance is rarely assigned. This article develops and empirically tests the profile of an AI Manager for HEIs proposed by the Erasmus+ project FORCE AI. A literature-based definition and nine-area competence profile were examined in a sequential mixed-methods study, a survey of 387 students and staff from 13 countries and five nominal-group focus groups in Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands, and Türkiye in 2025, which tested the elements stakeholders can rate: competences, responsibilities, placement, and qualifications. Only 17% of respondents knew of a designated AI-management responsibility at their institution; of the remainder, 71% considered one necessary and 76% expected an AI Manager to improve their experience. The expected mandate comprised training, ethical oversight, data security and strategy; preferences were split between a dedicated position and a shared cross-functional function. Survey respondents portrayed the role as a compliance-oriented technical specialist, whereas staff-dominated focus groups, rating the same competencies, prioritised leadership, change and project management, and communication alongside AI expertise and ethics; this contrast between methods and samples persists for staff respondents alone. The revised definition and profile position designated AI management, a dedicated AI Manager or a team with an accountable lead, as change leadership with technical credibility and give HEIs a tested basis for establishing this role.