On September 6, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with OpenAI to foster collaboration and innovation in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education.

This collaboration will help students and faculty at AICTE-affiliated schools, primarily in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in India, by increasing their access to advanced AI tools and learning opportunities, said a statement issued following the signing event in New Delhi.

According to the agreement, OpenAI will provide 1,50,000 free ChatGPT Go licenses to students and faculty members for six months. To ensure a smooth deployment, a pilot program of 5,000 licenses will be launched prior to the nationwide rollout, Rising Kashmir reports.

In addition, OpenAI will expand access to its OpenAI Academy and offer 'Train-the-Trainer' sessions to teachers, allowing them to effectively integrate AI into teaching and research.

AICTE will play a critical role in identifying universities, facilitating user access, and guaranteeing maximum utilisation through communication campaigns and engagement activities. Both AICTE and OpenAI will measure learning outcomes, track usage, and provide case studies to demonstrate the value of AI in education.

The MoU, which was formally signed by Prof Shyama Rath, Member Secretary, AICTE and Dan Cook, Deputy General Counsel, OpenAI India, is designed to function in the academic interest with a non-profit approach, ensuring inclusivity and accessibility, the statement said.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof TG Sitharam, Chairman, AICTE, said, “This partnership with OpenAI is a significant step towards empowering our students and faculty with cutting-edge AI tools. By democratising access to advanced technologies like ChatGPT, we aim to foster innovation, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills in the classroom,” adding that the council declared 2025 the “year of AI” to promote the use of artificial intelligence in teaching.