OpenAI and Singapore: AI Redefines Global Education

During the Education World Forum in London, OpenAI announced the integration of Singapore into its ambitious program Education for Countries. Launched in Davos earlier this year, this program aims to transform global education through artificial intelligence.

With over 900 million weekly users of ChatGPT and 4 million for Codex, OpenAI highlights the potential of AI to enrich students' learning experiences. The goal is to empower young people to realize their ideas and pursue ambitions that were once out of reach. Agentic AI, in particular, is emphasized for its potential to provide significantly greater creative, intellectual, and technical power to each student.

OpenAI is deeply concerned about the impact of AI on cognition, learning, and development over time. As these tools advance rapidly, their responsible deployment cannot be an afterthought. It requires large-scale research partnerships led by governments that adapt AI to educational contexts in close collaboration with educators, build trust in responsible adoption, and create a foundation of evidence for safe and effective use.

A Responsible and Collaborative Approach

The Education for Countries program brings together several nations, including Estonia, Greece, Italy (CRUI), Slovakia, Trinidad and Tobago, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan. These countries are committed to three pillars: research-based deployment, localized AI tools for learning, and teacher training.

Participating countries are advancing this work around three fundamental pillars:

• Research-based deployment: Utilizing OpenAI's Learning Outcomes Measurement Suite, deployments begin as research partnerships that help governments, educators, and OpenAI understand the impact of AI on learners, adapt technology, and build shared evidence on what works.

• Localized AI tools for learning: Systematic access to ChatGPT, Codex, and OpenAI's API platform, secured, compliant, and private, tailored for teaching and learning.

• Teacher training and empowerment: AI literacy, professional development, and certifications that help educators use these tools with confidence and responsibility.

Significant Progress in Participating Countries

In Estonia, the Ministry of Education, through the AI Leap Foundation, has deployed ChatGPT Edu for over 20,000 students and 4,600 teachers. This project, in collaboration with Tartu University and Stanford, aims to measure the impact of AI on learning. Estonia is a digital pioneer, boasting one of the strongest educational systems in the world and a thriving startup ecosystem. Through the AI Leap Foundation, the Estonian Ministry of Education is leading a national deployment of ChatGPT Edu focused on research: localizing the experience for schools, equipping educators, and building the foundations for responsible adoption.

In Jordan, the national initiative led by the National Council for Future Technology has enabled over one million students and 100,000 teachers to use the AI Education Assistant, Siraj. In Greece, the OpenAI for Greece AI Startup Accelerator selected 21 startups from 240 applications.

In Kazakhstan, a national deployment of ChatGPT Edu has taken place across 20 regions, with 84,000 educators trained in AI. In Slovakia, a survey revealed that 90% of educators reported an increase in their productivity, saving about 5 hours per week.

Singapore: A New Key Player

The education system in Singapore is globally recognized, and the integration of AI is already well advanced there. Approximately 43% of ChatGPT usage among 18-24 year-olds is related to learning and education. OpenAI is collaborating with Singapore's Ministry of Education to develop AI tools tailored for teaching. OpenAI supports use cases developed by teams from the MOE and GovTech for personalized learning.

As Education for Countries continues to expand, OpenAI plans new initiatives, such as OpenAI Luminaries, to further engage educators in co-designing AI-based educational solutions. New partner countries will be announced soon to join this global initiative.