Summary
OpenAI has announced strategic partnerships with leading Indian universities to integrate AI across management, health, engineering, creative and multidisciplinary education.
The initiative aims to prepare AI-ready talent for India’s fast-evolving, technology-driven economy.
OpenAI has announced strategic partnerships with leading Indian universities to integrate AI across management, health, engineering, creative and multidisciplinary education. The initiative aims to prepare AI-ready talent for India’s fast-evolving, technology-driven economy.
The first cohort of institutions includes Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), and Pearl Academy. According to the company, the programme is expected to benefit more than one lakh students, faculty members and staff over the next year.
The collaboration goes beyond providing access to AI tools and seeks to embed AI into the core academic infrastructure of campuses. The focus will be on responsible usage, academic integrity and structured adoption of AI technologies across disciplines. Raghav Gupta, Head of Education at OpenAI India, highlighted the urgency of AI literacy, noting that projections indicate nearly 40 per cent of the core skills used by workers today could change by 2030, largely due to AI-driven transformation. He emphasised that educational institutions play a critical role in bridging the gap between AI capabilities and real-world usage by equipping learners with future-ready skills.
Under the initiative, participating institutions will receive enterprise-grade ChatGPT Edu access, structured onboarding programmes, discipline-specific guidance and responsible-use frameworks aligned with institutional policies. AI fluency will be incorporated into academic workflows, including advanced prompting techniques, analytics, coding, simulations, case analysis and AI-assisted research. OpenAI will also organise hackathons, build days and Industry Days to connect campus innovation with startups and enterprises.
At Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, the collaboration will centre on engineering-led innovation and advanced research. Plans include potential campus-wide ChatGPT Edu access, faculty briefings and integration of generative AI tools into applied problem-solving and systems design. IIT Delhi Director Professor Rangan Banerjee described the partnership as part of the institute’s broader strategy to deepen collaborations with global AI companies and explore research opportunities in emerging AI applications, including education.
At Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, AI literacy will be woven into curricula spanning strategy, operations, finance, marketing, entrepreneurship and public policy. Director Professor Bharat Bhasker noted that as AI reshapes industries worldwide, institutions must build strong foundations to harness transformative opportunities.
In the healthcare domain, All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi will explore applied AI integration in medical education and clinical training. The proposed AI in Medical Education Hub aims to establish quality benchmarks, safety standards and ethical guardrails to ensure AI strengthens clinical judgement and enhances patient outcomes, according to AIIMS Director Professor M. Srinivas.
At Manipal Academy of Higher Education, the focus will be on interdisciplinary research and large-scale AI literacy. Vice Chancellor Lt. Gen. Dr. M. D. Venkatesh said the collaboration aligns with the university’s vision of becoming a digitally transformed, AI-enabled higher education institution.
Similarly, UPES will deploy AI across engineering, business, design, law and health sciences, while Pearl Academy will integrate AI into creative practice areas such as design development, branding, fashion technology and digital media workflows, with emphasis on ethical and responsible implementation.
Beyond traditional campuses, OpenAI is also partnering with ed-tech platforms PhysicsWallah, upGrad and HCL GUVI to introduce structured AI courses. These programmes will focus on foundational AI knowledge and practical ChatGPT applications tailored for students and early-career professionals.
Additionally, IIM Ahmedabad and Manipal Academy of Higher Education will roll out OpenAI certifications to formalise structured AI capability pathways within business and multidisciplinary programmes.
The initiative marks a significant step toward embedding artificial intelligence across India’s higher education ecosystem, with an emphasis on responsible use, innovation and workforce readiness in the age of AI.
Last updated on 19 Feb 2026
