OpenAI has expanded partnerships with four Australian universities to widen access to its artificial intelligence tools for students and staff. The move comes as research commissioned by OpenAI found most Australian university students already use AI several times a week.
The universities are UNSW Sydney, the University of Sydney, La Trobe University and Adelaide University. The partnerships focus on access to tools including ChatGPT Edu, alongside changes to teaching and assessment, and training designed to help students use AI in academic work and prepare for employment.
OpenAI's survey of 1,018 university students in Australia found that 81% use AI several times a week and 33% use it multiple times a day. It also found that 79% wanted more opportunities to use advanced AI tools on real-world projects, while 61% said AI skills would be essential to success in their chosen career.
More than a quarter of respondents, 28%, said they had already built an AI agent or assistant to help manage their studies, work or personal life. The research also found strong interest in entrepreneurship: 76% said they were interested in starting a company or working for themselves, and 68% said AI would make it easier to start a business.
Campus rollout
UNSW is extending ChatGPT Edu to more than 80,000 students and staff, with access being introduced in stages. The university also plans to integrate generative AI foundations and Codex into programmes and courses, and to give students opportunities to apply AI through hackathons and industry projects.
A student at UNSW linked that approach directly to employability. "It's important to understand what industry is looking for and how AI fits into that," said Nalin Iyer, Master of IT student, UNSW.
The University of Sydney is also rolling out ChatGPT Edu, alongside training and guidance for students and staff. Access will be introduced in stages after a trial. The university is also establishing a AUD $1 million AI Sustainability Research and Innovation Fund focused on sustainability research.
At La Trobe, all 3,500 staff already have access to ChatGPT Edu, and the university plans to extend access across its 45,000 students and staff. Its broader strategy includes Australia's first Bachelor of AI Engineering (Honours) and what La Trobe describes as Australia's first AI MBA programme.
La Trobe has also created a senior leadership role to oversee the work. "AI should happen with us, not to us," said Phil Laufenberg, Pro Vice-Chancellor, AI, and Chief AI Officer, La Trobe University. "We want students in every discipline to have the skills and confidence to help shape how AI is used in their profession. That means opportunities to build, test ideas and solve real problems, alongside the critical thinking and judgement to use AI responsibly."
Teaching changes
Several examples focus on how AI is being used within courses rather than as a separate technology initiative. In La Trobe's paramedicine programme, staff use ChatGPT to generate clinical scenarios delivered through the university's learning management system.
These activities include interpreting an ECG, assessing a possible heart attack and triaging patients after a mass casualty incident. The aim is to give students more chances to practise decision-making before they enter professional settings.
"ChatGPT helps us create realistic clinical scenarios so our paramedicine students can practise difficult field decisions. They still need to interpret evidence, explain their reasoning and defend their decisions. It also helps identify course material that needs updating in line with new research, giving us more time for teaching," said Dr Cameron Anderson, Head of the Paramedicine Program, La Trobe University.
In teacher training at La Trobe, a social robot called Fletch is being used to simulate conversations with parents. Powered by OpenAI large language models hosted through Microsoft Azure, the robot responds with speech, facial expressions and head movements, allowing trainee teachers to rehearse difficult interactions.
La Trobe is also making OpenAI's Codex and ChatGPT Work tools available across the institution and is developing an AI Business Studio. The studio is intended to give more than 1,000 students practical experience as consultants and forward deployed engineers helping small and medium-sized enterprises adopt AI.
Laufenberg said the internal impact was already visible. "ChatGPT and Codex have helped shorten early systems development and innovation from months to weeks and, importantly, enabled embedded co-design by staff and students," he said.
Assessment rules
The expansion of AI access is being paired with more formal rules on when students may and may not use the technology in assessed work. Universities are trying to move beyond blanket bans and instead define where AI use fits learning objectives.
UNSW has introduced what it calls a Can, Can't, Must framework for assessment. Under the model, educators can specify whether AI use is permitted, prohibited or required, depending on the task and the skill being tested.
The University of Sydney is taking a similar approach by assessing students' own knowledge in supervised settings while also asking them to show how they can use AI in open assessments. The model is designed to distinguish unaided individual performance from the ability to use AI appropriately.
La Trobe's support measures include Responsible and Safe AI learning modules for all students, alongside AI skills development in 50 priority first-year subjects. It is also developing discipline-specific modules for education, law and health, linking AI literacy to professional responsibilities.
Adelaide University is taking a different route, focusing on institutional and cyber security uses of AI as it builds systems following a merger. "This is enabling human-centric AI in a thoughtful way, providing us with access to frontier AI models to strengthen our cyber security posture," said Abhishek Singh, Chief Technology and Security Officer, Adelaide University.