The collaboration will support UNSW faculties to provide practical and responsible AI capability into teaching and learning.
UNSW is extending ChatGPT Edu access to Higher Degree Research (HDR) candidates and casual academics, building on access already available to professional and academic staff.
Work is also underway to make ChatGPT Edu available to all students for the commencement of the 2027 academic year, opening new opportunities to explore how generative AI can support learning, research and future careers.
This expansion is part of our broader collaboration with OpenAI — a partnership focused on building responsible AI capability, supporting innovation across the University and preparing our students for an AI-enabled future.
The collaboration will support faculties across UNSW to provide practical and responsible AI capability into teaching and learning. Students will have opportunities to develop skills that connect directly with their discipline, future careers and the challenges facing Australia and the Indo-Pacific.
ChatGPT Edu is a secure version of ChatGPT designed for universities. When permitted within course requirements, students and staff can use it to explore ideas, explain concepts, test understanding and deepen learning. Researchers can use the platform to assist with data analysis, text summarisation and perform other tasks to help speed up the research process. Academics can also use ChatGPT Edu to enhance the student learning experience through adaptive learning approaches, resource development and support for student questions.
The rollout builds on a 10-month trial involving around 800 students and staff in selected courses. At the end of the trial, 98%of participating staff wanted to retain access. In one course, 115 students generated more than 41,000 interactions over 10 weeks and reported increased confidence using generative AI.
Building capability
The collaboration will support teaching resources, assessment design and responsible-use guidance, helping students apply AI thoughtfully and transparently throughout their studies.
Students will also have opportunities to apply their skills through hackathons, build challenges and industry projects addressing real-world problems in health, climate, defence, fintech and cybersecurity.
The partnership with OpenAI is intended to create talent pathways connecting students with internships, graduate roles, startup ecosystems and NSW Innovation Networks. Planned activities include industry-mentored capstone projects, an annual UNSW–OpenAI Industry Day and opportunities to work with industry, government and research partners.
The AI @ UNSW Community of Practice is helping build connections and capability across the University. Aryeh Sternberg, one of UNSW’s AI coaches, has developed the UNSW AI podcast and spoken with experts across a range of disciplines, sharing practical insights and perspectives on how AI is shaping learning, research and work.
“I am a multimodal, multi-model AI user, which means constantly switching between different kinds of work. In any given week, that includes script writing, talent wrangling, recording, editing, publishing and promoting the AI @ UNSW Podcast, as well as engaging a Community of Practice of more than 1000 members across the University. I use the tools available to me, including Custom GPTs for writing scripts, prompts for identifying potential interviewees and community tools for creating promotional content in my own voice,” Aryeh said.
Staff will continue to use ChatGPT Edu to support teaching, research and University operations, including developing learning activities, summarising information, coding, drafting and reducing repetitive tasks. Research applications will remain subject to appropriate governance, and approvals and use should be consistent with the principles of research integrity.
Supporting responsible use
Using AI thoughtfully also means considering its environmental impact. UNSW is taking a whole-of-University approach to managing the emissions associated with the ChatGPT Edu rollout, including through emissions reduction targets, annual reporting and the purchase of verified carbon offsets.
Users can help the environmental impact by choosing the simplest effective approach, using clear prompts, reusing existing content and refining useful responses rather than repeatedly generating new versions. Where AI is not needed, simpler tools such as search, calculators or standard software may be the better choice.
ChatGPT Edu offers more secure and tailored functionality than standard Free or Plus versions of ChatGPT. OpenAI doesn’t use content submitted through UNSW’s ChatGPT Edu to train or improve its models, helping protect University information and intellectual property. However, responsible use is always important and you should not input personal, confidential, restricted, sensitive or classified information unless authorised and permitted.
ChatGPT Edu must not be used with Defence information. If you are involved in Defence-related work or study, you will have access to Defence information. To help meet this obligation, UNSW has created a Defence Participants ChatGPT Edu access group. This group restricts or disables certain features and applies additional security controls to support responsible ChatGPT use, helping safeguard Defence information, and still allows appropriate use of the platform for non-Defence-related activities.
As adoption grows, UNSW and OpenAI will continue to explore opportunities for training, curriculum innovation and collaborative research. The UNSW community will play an important role in shaping how AI is used responsibly to create value through learning, research and work.
Learn more about AI at UNSW, responsible use and support.
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