Originally published: Mi3, 9 September 2026
ChatGPT is heading to class at scale, with 80,000 UNSW students and staff gaining access under OpenAI’s largest Asia-Pacific education deployment.
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) has entered into a two-year agreement with OpenAI to provide ChatGPT Edu to 80,000 students and staff. This marks OpenAI’s largest educational deployment in the Asia-Pacific region. The collaboration aims to integrate practical and responsible artificial intelligence (AI) skills across all faculties at UNSW.
The initiative will embed generative AI foundations and Codex into various educational programs and courses. Students will have the opportunity to apply AI skills through hackathons and industry projects in sectors such as health, climate, defence, fintech, and cybersecurity. The collaboration will also support AI-assisted research applications, including literature review, data summarisation, domain modelling, coding, and secure research workflows.
OpenAI and UNSW plan to develop talent pathways that connect students with internships, graduate roles, startup ecosystems, and innovation networks. A national survey conducted by Pureprofile on behalf of OpenAI, which included 1,018 Australian university students, revealed that 81% use AI several times a week, and 33% use it multiple times each day. The survey further indicated that 61% of students believe AI skills will be essential for career success, and 79% desire more opportunities to use advanced AI tools on real-world projects.
