Four Australian universities roll out ChatGPT Edu
UNSW, Sydney, La Trobe and Adelaide universities are partnering with OpenAI on ChatGPT Edu, with campus-wide access mostly arriving in 2027, as an OpenAI-funded survey shows heavy student AI use.
UNSW Sydney, the University of Sydney, La Trobe University and Adelaide University have partnered with OpenAI to give students and staff access to its tools, OpenAI said in a promotional post. Most of the rollouts are phased.
UNSW is bringing ChatGPT Edu to more than 80,000 students and staff in stages. It also plans to build generative AI foundations and Codex into its courses, and to run hackathons and industry projects with links to internships and startup networks.
The University of Sydney will give all students access in Semester 1, 2027, after a trial. It is also setting up a $1 million AI Sustainability Research and Innovation Fund.
La Trobe has already given ChatGPT Edu to all 3,500 of its staff. It plans to extend access to all 45,000 students and staff in the first quarter of 2027. The university says it has Australia's first Bachelor of AI Engineering (Honours), with the first students starting in 2027, and the country's first AI MBA. It has also named Phil Laufenberg as Pro Vice-Chancellor AI and Chief AI Officer. Teaching examples include ChatGPT-generated paramedicine simulations and a social robot called Fletch, which runs on OpenAI models through Microsoft Azure and helps trainee teachers practise talking with parents.
The post gives no details of Adelaide University's deployment.
OpenAI paid for a survey of more than 1,000 Australian university students that it uses to support the push. In it, 81% said they use AI several times a week and 28% said they had built an AI agent or assistant. 79% said they want more chances to use advanced AI tools on real-world projects. OpenAI did not publish the survey's method or the commercial terms of any of the deals.