UNSW Sydney has announced a strategic partnership with OpenAI to bring ChatGPT Edu to more than 80,000 students and staff as part of the University’s broader approach to responsible AI.
The collaboration, one of the largest AI education deployments in the Asia-Pacific region, aims to help ensure graduates are equipped to use AI critically, ethically and effectively.
The OpenAI partnership forms part of UNSW’s strategy to explore and evaluate a range of AI technologies. The University is currently designing a multi-model AI environment that will enable students and staff to experiment with different AI tools and approaches as the technology continues to evolve.
This week, access to ChatGPT Edu is being extended to Higher Degree Research candidates and casual academic staff, building on existing access for professional and academic staff.
UNSW is also working towards expanding access to AI tools across the 80,000-strong student community ahead of the 2027 academic year.
Professor Sarah Maddison, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education and Student Experience, said broad access to AI tools will help students build the experience and confidence needed to use them effectively in the workplace.
“Our ambition is to produce AI capable graduates,” Prof. Maddison said. “And to do that, we need to offer our students access to a range of AI tools to improve their capability and exposure and experience with AI tools, specifically tools that are being used in the industries to which they will likely go into.”
For Nalin Iyer, a second-year student in the Master of IT program, it is important for the University to embrace the capabilities of AI and support students in using the technology responsibly, ethically and confidently.
“AI is here to stay. The technology is only getting better, so it’s about learning how to use it effectively rather than rejecting it altogether,” said Iyer, Vice President of Engineering with the UNSW AI Society. “You have to keep up with the changes and be ready for what’s coming next.
“In the past, you could learn a programming language and feel confident it would help you get a job. Now, things are moving much faster. It’s important to understand what industry is looking for and how AI fits into that, because it’s becoming part of the way we work.”
Supporting academic integrity
UNSW’s approach to AI is underpinned by a strong commitment to academic integrity and transparency.
Recognising that different learning outcomes require different approaches, the University has adopted a Can, Can’t, Must framework for AI in assessment. The framework helps educators clearly communicate expectations about when students may use AI, when its use is prohibited, and when students are expected to use AI as part of the learning process.
Under the framework:
- Can: Students may use AI tools in ways specified by the course or assessment.
- Can’t: Students are not permitted to use AI where independent demonstration of knowledge or skills is required.
- Must: Students are required to use AI as part of the assessment to develop critical AI literacy and discipline-specific capabilities.
Professor Paul Andon, Dean of the Business School and UNSW Executive Lead of AI, said AI is prompting universities to rethink how learning and assessment are designed, while ensuring students continue to develop core knowledge and skills.
“We have a responsibility to ensure our learning experiences reflect the reality of the world our students are entering. AI is increasingly being used in workplaces across almost every profession, so students need opportunities to use these tools appropriately as part of their learning,” Prof. Andon said.
“That means thinking differently about learning and assessment. Approaches that worked in the past, like take-home assignments, may not always be the best fit in an AI-enabled world. At the same time, there will always be areas where students need to demonstrate foundational knowledge and skills independently. The key is ensuring curricula and assessments are fit for purpose and aligned to the learning outcomes we want students to achieve.”
AI in the classroom
Senior Lecturer and Nexus Fellow, May Lim, said AI is helping academics adjust courses to align with the new academic calendar, moving from trimesters to semesters.
“We’re updating our courses to make them more appropriate for a world where AI is readily available. Knowledge recall on its own is no longer as valuable as it once was. Instead, we’re looking at how students can apply their knowledge in authentic ways that are relevant to their discipline and demonstrate their capabilities,” Senior Lecturer Lim said.
“I work with colleagues to redesign their courses. For many academics, that’s a significant shift. If you’ve been teaching a course for 10 or 20 years and it has looked largely the same over that time, it can be difficult to imagine what it might look like after this transformation.
“We’re using AI to create prototypes and examples of new assessment approaches, helping academics visualise what redesigned courses and assessments could look like. That allows us to transform courses more quickly and create learning experiences that are more engaging and meaningful for students.”
From learning to research and jobs
Beyond assessment, the collaboration will include workforce-aligned curriculum, discipline-specific playbooks and staff training. Researchers will be supported to explore applications including AI-assisted literature review and data summarisation, domain modelling, coding and secure research workflows.
Students will apply those skills through hackathons, build challenges and industry projects in health, climate, defence, fintech and cybersecurity.
UNSW and OpenAI also intend to develop pathways connecting students with internships, graduate roles, startup ecosystems and NSW innovation networks, and to translate research into impact through pilots with government and industry.
OpenAI Managing Director for Asia Pacific Kiran Mani said UNSW was setting a new benchmark for the AI-native graduate.
“Australian students want to do more than learn about AI. They want to use it to build companies, advance research and solve real-world problems,” he said.
