UNSW has signed an enterprise agreement with OpenAI to give 10,000 staff access to the secure and advanced capabilities of the ChatGPT Edu platform.
UNSW Sydney has entered a major agreement with OpenAI to roll out its ChatGPT Edu platform to staff, the biggest education deal with the US-based research organisation in Australia.
The university has purchased 10,000 licences, making OpenAI’s ChatGPT Edu platform available to all fixed-term and permanent staff. The agreement will allow researchers, educators and professional staff to harness advanced AI tools on a secure platform. Academics will benefit from using OpenAI’s ChatGPT to complement and enhance their research and teaching activities, while protecting their intellectual property.
UNSW Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Attila Brungs, announced the agreement at the UNSW Societal Impact of AI Symposium in Sydney today. He said he is committed to ensuring the university takes a responsible approach in rolling out the largest ChatGPT Edu agreement in Australia.
“This agreement follows our successful trials and will give our UNSW community access to secure, practical tools that can support their work, whilst ensuring they can be used responsibly and in line with our values.
“As we introduce these technologies, our focus is on helping staff explore how AI can add value in teaching, research and operations, while maintaining the highest standards of ethics, privacy and academic integrity.”
UNSW’s Chief Information Officer, Ms Chrissy Burns, told the Symposium that the agreement strengthens UNSW’s leadership in encouraging the responsible use of AI.
“Our priority is to introduce this technology in a way that is safe, reliable and supports our staff. This is a careful, staged rollout, supported by training and clear guidelines, so that staff can use AI responsibly and in ways that reflect UNSW’s values.”
The agreement follows a 10-month trial involving 800 UNSW staff. Unlike the standard Free or Plus versions, the enterprise-level tool provides more secure and tailored functionality. Prompts entered into ChatGPT Edu will remain private, and data can’t be used for model training. The licences will be available as an optional resource for fixed-term and permanent staff who wish to use them.
UNSW said it recognises the importance of addressing the environmental impacts of emerging technologies and AI use. In response to feedback from its community, the university will purchase carbon offsets verified under a reputable standard to mitigate the emissions associated with the ChatGPT Edu agreement. As with other purchased goods and services, carbon emissions associated with the rollout will be included in UNSW’s emission reduction targets and annual reporting.
Mr Raghav Gupta is the Head of Education in APAC for OpenAI. He said, for educators, AI is a powerful ally, freeing up more time for the truly human work of teaching.
“For researchers and university staff, it’s becoming part of the infrastructure of higher education, much like the internet. We’re excited to see UNSW leaning in with a thoughtful rollout that ensures their campus is ready to harness these benefits.”
UNSW joins the likes of Oxford, Columbia and Arizona State University, as well as the London Business School and Wharton School, in bringing this technology to campus. Staff at UNSW will be offered optional training before they are given a licence. The rollout is expected to take place over the coming months.
About the UNSW ChatGPT Edu Pilot
A 10-month pilot of ChatGPT Edu at UNSW involved around 800 staff and a small number of students in selected courses. Led by the UNSW Business School, the trial highlighted the potential for AI to support research, teaching and operations. Key outcomes included:
- High staff uptake: 98 per cent of participants wanted to retain access.
- Student engagement: in one course, 115 students generated more than 41,000 interactions over 10 weeks.
- Innovative teaching: creation of role-play using bots (eg, a virtual CEO), course Q&A assistants and review tools. Staff also used AI to build realistic case studies, synthetic datasets and scenario-based activities.
- Students reported increased comfort using generative AI by the end of the term.
“We believe providing equitable access to AI Tools, supported by a strong capability-building program, will be key to harnessing the potential of AI to see and enhance staff and student experiences at UNSW,” said UNSW’s Director of Innovation Enablement, Mr Christian Wood.
