UNSW Sydney signs landmark agreement with OpenAI

The University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney has broken new ground in the artificial intelligence (AI) space, becoming the first university in the Asia-Pacific region to sign an Education Agreement with OpenAI.

The collaboration with OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, will allow UNSW researchers, educators and students to harness OpenAI’s advanced AI tools on a secure platform. This means academics can protect their intellectual property whilst using OpenAI’s ChatGPT to complement and enhance their work. 

The enterprise-level collaboration will also allow UNSW researchers, educators and students to use the OpenAI tool ChatGPT Edu for enhancements, efficiencies, and the creation of custom AI GPTs (or bots) on a secure platform, building on UNSW’s strategy to embed AI in all aspects of the University, developing staff and students into ‘AI-natives.’

Anticipated benefits of the agreement are expected to be utilising AI to “give time back”, more personalised learning opportunities, and tools designed to improve the staff and student experience.

The decision builds on UNSW’s efforts to position itself as a world leader in the development of AI as a safe, reliable and ubiquitous technology for global benefit, following the lead of other global tertiary institutions like Oxford, Columbia and Arizona State universities, as well as the London Business School and Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

The agreement offers UNSW staff and students more robust, secure, and bespoke technology compared to the standard Free or Plus ChatGPT versions. It also means any prompts the UNSW community inputs into ChatGPT remain private and the data can’t be used for model training.

“This partnership with OpenAI represents a pivotal moment in our journey to integrate cutting-edge technology into the fabric of UNSW,” Dr Chrissy Burns, UNSW’s Chief Information Officer said. 

“By leveraging the enterprise-level capabilities of ChatGPT Edu, we can ensure our researchers, educators, and students have access to secure and advanced AI tools tailored to their needs.” 

Leah Belsky, General Manager of Education at OpenAI said the organisation is delighted to collaborate with UNSW Sydney in this first-of-its-kind partnership. 

A 12-month targeted pilot is currently underway at UNSW to develop usages for ChatGPT Edu, involving 500 participants across the University. The pilot is focusing on enhancing productivity, curriculum development and student and teacher support. 

Staff feedback will be gathered every three months to determine the usefulness and impact on productivity, learning and teaching. A controlled pilot with a selected cohort of students and their teaching staff is also planned for early 2025.