Val is RMIT’s generative artificial intelligence tool – powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4o. Val is private, secure and free for RMIT students to use.
Access Val using your RMIT email and password.*
Want to know how to use Val effectively and appropriately in your studies? Consult the Generative AI for students at RMIT module.
You can now use Val to:
Val is a generative AI tool which interacts with you in a conversational way, just like ChatGPT. Within a chat-style interface, you can ask Val questions and provide instructions (called “prompts”), and Val will respond.
Val can help you with your study and learning, planning and editing resumes or cover letters, drafting emails, summarising text and much more.
Val is powered by GPT-4o, the same large language modal used by ChatGPT Plus, ChatGPT’s paid subscription service. This means Val is more powerful and provides more accurate answers than the free version of ChatGPT.
Access to GPT-4o costs USD$20 per month via ChatGPT's paid subscription service, whereas Val is free for RMIT students to use!
Any data you share with Val is also kept private, secure and confidential – it’s not shared with OpenAI, or any other external organisations outside RMIT.
Your course guides will provide guidance on how you can use Val or other AI tools in your learning, including whether or not it’s appropriate to use AI tools in your assessments. If you’re unsure, ask your teacher. All uses of Val should be in accordance with RMIT policies and academic integrity requirements. See the FAQs below for more information.
To upload images, files or documents to Val:
Personas are tailored versions of Val, with different behaviour, knowledge and capabilities. Personas are useful for specific tasks, for example:
New personas will be added to Val over time.
To view the currently available personas:
Val can generate images, diagrams and graphs based on prompts.
To generate an image:
To generate a diagram or graph:
To turn dark mode on and off:
1. In the Val interface, click on your profile icon in the top righthand corner of the screen, then click Settings
2. Under General – WebUI Settings you will see Theme. Next to Theme, click the dropdown menu that says System
3. Select your preferred setting between Dark, OLED Dark or Light
4. Click Save
You can install Val as an app on your desktop or mobile device.
The exact process for installing Val depends on your device and browser. Because Val is a PWA (Progressive Web App), Val can give your tailored instructions. Just log in to Val and ask “How do I install a PWA?” then Val will tell you how to install Val as an app!
Val is a free, secure and private option for RMIT students looking to use a text-based generative AI tool. By using Val, you save money while protecting the information you provide from being shared with third parties.
Using Val instead of public tools, even those where you pay a fee, guarantees that no one can use the information you provide. Many generative AI tools use the data provided by you to train their tool or share it with third parties. Your data is valuable and may include your intellectual property. Additionally, if you use other AI tools for assessment work there is a risk it could be sold and used for misconduct, negatively impacting you.
Val is powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4o large language model, so it has all the same functionality as GPT-4o. Val has the added bonus of being private and secure, your data won’t be shared with OpenAI or other third parties. And Val is free for RMIT students to use.
Val functions like ChatGPT. You can ask Val questions and provide instructions (called “prompts”), and Val will respond.
Here’s some examples of things Val can help you with:
For detailed information on how Val can be used in your studies, see the self-paced Generative AI for students at RMIT module. It's packed with tips and examples to help you use AI effectively.
To access Val:
When writing a prompt, be specific and provide appropriate context and details. You can do this either in a single message or as a series of messages.
A well-structured prompt will more likely result in a more suitable result from Val. If Val does not provide a suitable response, continue to refine your prompt by providing additional information, such as definitions, the purpose or goal to be achieved, the role you want Val to take, any constraints or limitations, the format of the response or even examples.
| Task | Example prompt |
|---|---|
Kick start your assignmentSometimes starting with a blank page can be a bit challenging. Val can help you to bring out your own ideas and create a basic structure for your assignment. |
Act as an expert writing tutor. I need to write an analysis of how management type impacts employee satisfaction. Ask me questions to help me write something insightful. Ask one question at a time, wait for my response, and ask me the next question. After I have answered your questions, produce a potential structure for an analytical report for me. |
Generate questions to help you studyUse Val to produce questions to review and reinforce learning, assess your knowledge and help prepare for upcoming assessments. |
You are a university tutor, and I am a student, and we are revising for a test on theories in developmental psychology as part of a first year psychology degree. Please provide me with a series of multiple-choice questions and respond to my answers to let me know if I am correct or incorrect. |
Suggest counterargumentsAsk Val to suggest counterarguments for a topic or compare two concepts/theories. |
You are a law expert. List opposing viewpoints of strict and absolute liability and provide thorough reasoning. Include multiple viewpoints. |
Improve your writingAcademic writing can be tricky, especially if English isn’t your first language. Val can help make your writing better. |
Please give me feedback on this writing sample: [copy/paste text you want feedback on]. |
For more tips and examples, see the self-paced Generative AI for students at RMIT module.
Follow the guidance provided in your course guide and any specific assessment instructions to know whether Val or other generative AI tools are appropriate to use in an assessment.
Your teachers may advise you that:
You should always be transparent with your teacher regarding if, when and how you have used generative AI, and provide appropriate referencing and acknowledgement as per the RMIT Library AI referencing guidelines.
Transparency, trustworthiness, and honesty are fundamental principles of academic integrity at RMIT, and around the world.
It depends. Use of any tool in your research, including generative AI tools such as Val, must comply fully with the principles of research integrity, set out in Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research. That means you are responsible for conducting your research with honesty, rigour, and transparency.
Some uses of Val for supporting your research, such as assistance with writing code or support with representing technical text for a non-technical readers may be acceptable. Other uses for conducting research, such as asking Val to write papers or analyse data, are generally unacceptable.
If in doubt, it is best to speak to your supervisor or a research integrity advisor. Information, resources, training, and advice on Research Integrity and connections to the Research Integrity Advisers (RIAs) in your School are all available on the RMIT Researcher Portal (accessible to supervisors and research candidates).
For more information, please see the following resources and supports:
If you are a Higher Degree by Research candidate, you must declare, attribute and acknowledge use of AI in your thesis submission in accordance with the HDR Submission and Examination Procedure.
No, you should employ critical thinking to evaluate all the outputs that you receive from Val. All generative AI chatbots, including Val, may provide incorrect, biased and inappropriate content. As such, it is important to validate the information that you receive for factual accuracy against additional sources.
Val is powered by GPT-4o, a large language model pre-trained by OpenAI – it has been trained on publicly available internet data only, reflecting the predominant biases, prejudices, and misconceptions of the web’s human authors.
You should not rely on Val’s responses, especially for medical, financial, legal or any other professional advice.
If you encounter a hateful or inappropriate response while using Val, you can report it by selecting the ‘Feedback' button at the top right corner of the Val chat interface.
RMIT’s academic integrity page provides further information about appropriate use of generative AI, such as Val.
No, Val was trained on internet data up to October 2023. Val doesn't have access to internet data after October 2023. You should always validate the information that you receive from Val for factual accuracy against additional sources.
No, Val does not have access to Canvas or any RMIT Library databases.
Spell check is already a feature in many writing tools, like Microsoft Word, so it is often not necessary to use Val to spell check your writing. But Val can provide additional support by helping you with suggestions on grammar and tone, taking on the role of an editorial assistant and giving you suggestions on how to improve your writing. To get feedback on an essay, select the EssayMate persona in Val, upload a draft of your essay and ask Val for feedback.
Please note, while Val is configured to use Australian English, it may sometimes provide responses in US English.
No. If asked to generate references, Val may provide something that looks like a reference or citation. But Val is not able to reliably generate true references or citations, or relate the contents of references to ideas in your work.
You should follow the RMIT Library referencing guides and tools that are intended to format references and citations in accordance with the style you require.
For detailed information on how to cite and reference content generated by Val or other generative AI tools, refer to the RMIT Artificial Intelligence Referencing Guidelines.
RMIT is collecting information from interactions with Val, including inputs (“prompts”) and Val’s responses.
This information is being collected to:
Recorded information is de-identified and does not include student or staff IDs.
Prompt histories are stored securely for a period of six months (unless you choose to delete them) and then automatically deleted.
Information is stored in Australia, specifically in the Azure Australia East region.
For information on who can access and see information collected from Val, see the next FAQ.
The only people who can see user’s inputs and Val’s responses are a small number of authorised RMIT staff members. Educators (teachers, lecturers, etc) and other students cannot see any inputs or responses.
Recorded information is de-identified and does not include student or staff IDs. It is not shared with any external organisations outside RMIT.
Do not enter prompts that contain:
No, Val does not use or learn from the data you provide. Your data will not influence the answers provided to other users. When writing prompts for Val, you may paste text and ask for an answer or task to be completed in relation to it. This does not train Val, it just provides Val with context in your individual chat to help respond to your prompts.
Use of Val must comply with the Val – Terms of Use (PDF) and RMIT Acceptable Use Standard – Information Technology.
Student use of Val is governed by the Student Conduct Policy and Academic Integrity Policy. Use of Val by researchers is governed by the Research Policy.
Any personal information collected by the service will be handled in accordance with the RMIT Privacy Statement.
If you have any questions or concerns about how the information collected by Val will be handled, please contact aiquestions@rmit.edu.au.
If you experience an error, please try at least one of the following:
If the issue persists, please report it via IT Service Connect.
If you experience technical issues accessing or using Val, please contact IT Service Connect for assistance or to report the problem.
You can leave feedback or make suggestions via the ‘Feedback’ button at the top right corner of the Val chat interface. You can also contact IT Service Connect for assistance.
Val is an acronym for ‘Virtual Assistant for Learning’, a nod to its potential to help RMIT students with learning and other daily tasks.
Acknowledgement of Country
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.
