University portals enable student engagement through course registration, progress tracking, and campus events while simplifying administrative tasks and centralizing resources for efficient academic management. However, these systems often fail to address inclusivity challenges like accessibility and cultural differences, leading to difficulties in navigating course materials, accessing essential academic resources, and participating fully in university activities for international students and users with disabilities. Although portals streamline access to digital libraries, assignments, and financial aid systems, they lack adaptive features to meet varied user needs (Mahrishi, Abbas, & Siddiqui, 2024; Rezwana & Maher, 2023). This study focuses on redesigning Drexel University’s portal by integrating AI-driven features informed by surveys from 34 participants and interviews with 8 users. These participants represent diverse linguistic and accessibility needs, ensuring the design decisions address real-world challenges such as multilingual support, adaptive navigation, and culturally relevant user interfaces.

The redesign incorporates AI features like real-time language translation, personalized navigation, and context-aware recommendations. For example, translation helps international students access materials in their native language, while personalized navigation provides high-contrast interfaces for visually impaired users. Context-aware recommendations analyze user interactions, such as course performance or search history, to suggest relevant tutoring services or campus resources. Using Design Thinking, the process involved empathizing with user challenges, defining key issues, ideating solutions, and prototyping with Figma. The design phase was carried out by a team member specializing in UI/UX, ensuring practical and visually effective solutions. The simulation of AI-driven functionalities was conducted to evaluate user interaction, focusing on real-time language translation, personalized navigation, and context-aware recommendations. These simulations were assessed through user testing and feedback, measuring their impact on user engagement and accessibility improvements. Usability testing revealed that users greatly valued real-time language translation for navigating course materials and found the high-contrast interface beneficial for improving accessibility, leading to further refinements in these features. Feedback emphasized intuitive layouts and adaptive features, refining designs to enhance user satisfaction (Xu et al., 2024; Li et al., 2024; Gould & Lewis, 1985).

This research highlights the practical process of integrating AI-driven features into university portals through a design-focused methodology. It emphasizes how adaptive tools can improve inclusivity while showcasing the impact of iterative design on user satisfaction. These tools are scalable across institutions, offering accessible digital environments adaptable to diverse needs. For instance, universities with many non-native speakers could use AI-driven translation, while others could implement adaptive navigation for students with disabilities (Shalamova, 2019; Quesenbery & Szuc, 2011).

Keywords: Inclusivity, AI, university portals, accessibility, cultural and linguistic adaptability, Design Thinking, usability testing, adaptive features, digital equity.