OpenAI collaborates with Indian universities. (AP photo)
OpenAI on Tuesday announced deep institutional partnerships with six leading Indian universities and three major edtech platforms, marking a critical shift from individual use of AI to campus-wide deployment with the goal of building AI-ready talent for India’s future workforce.The first set of partner institutions includes IIT Delhi, IIM Ahmedabad, AIIMS New Delhi, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) and Pearl Academy. Together, the initiative is expected to support more than 100,000 students, faculty, and staff over the next year through structured access to ChatGPT Edu at enterprise level, faculty empowerment programs, and responsible use frameworks.Unlike previous models that focused on access to tools, OpenAI said the effort is centered on institutional transformation — integrating AI into teaching, research, assessment and campus operations, while aligning with academic integrity and ethical safeguards.“By 2030, nearly 40% of workers will have changed the basic skills they rely on today, driven largely by AI,” said Raghav Gupta, Head of Education, OpenAI India. “Educational institutions play a critical role in bridging the gap between what AI tools can do and how people actually use them.”
At IIT Delhi, the collaboration focuses on engineering-led innovation, with AI being integrated into undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and executive programmes. Hackathons and Industry Days powered by OpenAI will connect student innovations with India’s manufacturing, deep technology, and R&D ecosystem. IIM Ahmedabad will roll out ChatGPT Edu across degree and executive programmes, integrating AI fluency into management education spanning strategy, finance, operations, public policy and entrepreneurship.AIIMS New Delhi will explore the use of applied AI in medical education and clinical training, including a proposed Center for AI in Medical Education that focuses on simulations, clinical documentation and evidence synthesis, with an emphasis on safety standards and ethical dissemination. The MAHE partnership spans engineering, health sciences, business and hospitality, with structured pathways to AI capabilities across disciplines.UPES and Pearl Academy will focus on interdisciplinary and creative applications respectively – from engineering, law and health sciences at UPES to design, fashion technology and digital media at Pearl Academy – where AI is treated as core academic infrastructure rather than experimental experimentation.Additionally, IIM Ahmedabad and MAHE will roll out OpenAI certificates to formalize structured AI capability pathways in management and interdisciplinary education. To expand AI skills beyond campus, OpenAI is also collaborating with educational technology platforms PhysicsWallah, upGrad, and HCL GUVI to offer structured courses on AI basics and practical use of ChatGPT to students and early-career professionals.The move signals a broader shift in India’s higher education landscape — from AI awareness to institutional adoption — as universities begin to position graduates not just as AI users, but as leaders in an AI-driven economy.
