The next phase of OpenAI’s Education for Countries

A new era of agentic AI is emerging, with OpenAI tools like ChatGPT and Codex increasingly used in education. This technology holds the potential to empower students with greater creative, intellectual, and technical capabilities, helping them achieve their ambitions and become future innovators. However, critical to this advancement is the responsible deployment of AI, achieved through large-scale, government-led research partnerships that adapt AI to educational contexts in collaboration with educators. These partnerships build confidence in safe adoption and establish an evidence base for effective use.

OpenAI's "Education for Countries" program, launched at Davos, exemplifies this model. The initial cohort, including Estonia, Greece, Italy’s CRUI, Slovakia, Trinidad & Tobago, Kazakhstan, the UAE, and Jordan, is focused on improving learning outcomes and fostering economic opportunity. Estonia, a digital pioneer, has already seen ChatGPT Edu reach over 20,000 students and 4,600 teachers through a nationwide, research-driven deployment led by its Ministry of Education.

The next phase of the program emphasizes localizing tools, building sovereign capabilities, and measuring real-world impact. OpenAI is collaborating with institutions like the University of Tartu and Stanford to study AI's effect on learning for over 20,000 students in real classroom settings. Alongside this research, significant investment is being made in empowering and upskilling teachers, recognized as crucial for responsible classroom integration. This includes professional learning communities and builder events, such as the Presidential Codex Hackathon, which resulted in tools like a Maths Feedback Coach and an AI STEM Tutor.

Singapore, with its world-class education system and highly active AI-using youth, is the newest partner in the "Education for Countries" initiative. OpenAI is supporting Singapore's Ministry of Education and GovTech teams to develop use cases for personalized learning, such as interactive mother tongue language learning. The initiative also focuses on supporting educators through practical workshops and hackathons, ensuring a teacher-driven approach to AI implementation.

As the program evolves, OpenAI remains committed to supporting governments in moving beyond mere tool access to evidence-based deployments. This involves collaboration with learning scientists and researchers to measure long-term impact and share findings. A new educator engagement track, OpenAI Luminaries, will launch soon to further co-design with teachers, provide classroom resources, and share teacher-led examples globally. OpenAI is also actively seeking country partners for its next cohort.