UG secures 96,000 Gemini AI licences for staff and students
The University of Ghana (UG) has partnered with Google to secure more than 96,000 licences for “Gemini for Education” to boost digital skills, research, and teaching across the institution.
The initiative aims to equip students and faculty with Artificial Intelligence (AI) competencies demanded by modern employers as industries redefine graduate employability standards.
Speaking at a two-day training workshop on Gemini AI, Mr Emmanuel Adeniyi, Higher Education Lead for West and Central Africa at Google, noted that industry expectations have evolved significantly, making AI proficiency a key requirement for job seekers.
“More and more employers are asking and redefining what an employable graduate looks like. For many of them, they are prioritising students who show evidence of competencies in Artificial Intelligence.” Mr Adeniyi said.
“So I think it is important, as you see with many universities like the University of Ghana, to ensure that students are supported to navigate the era of Artificial Intelligence.”
He explained that the Gemini platform was specifically built with learning science in mind and includes enterprise-grade data protection to safeguard institutional information.
During the session, faculty and administrative staff drawn from various colleges and the central administration received practical training on integrating AI tools effectively and responsibly into academic and administrative workflows.
Addressing the participants, Professor Sandow Mark Yidana, Provost of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, said the partnership aligned directly with the University’s strategic vision.
He urged the trained staff to serve as AI champions within their respective units and train other colleagues and students.
Professor Yidana, however, cautioned that the adoption of generative AI must be guided by ethical considerations and academic integrity.
“As we embrace Artificial Intelligence, we must remain mindful of the associated responsibilities.” Professor Yidana stressed.
“AI-generated information must be critically evaluated, while issues related to data protection, intellectual property, respect for confidentiality, and academic integrity must be carefully managed in line with our AI policy.”
He added that UG remained committed to driving innovation without compromising its high academic standards.
Background
The University of Ghana deal is part of a broader national and continental rollout of Google’s AI education tools.
In June 2026, Ghana’s Ministry of Education signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Google for Education during the Education World Forum in London to integrate AI into Ghanaian classrooms, move beyond basic digital literacy and build AI fluency. The agreement provides for curriculum-aligned content, teacher training and zero-rated access to ensure equitable access, including in rural areas.
Google is also working with UG and the Ghana Digital Innovation Hub (GDI Hub) to develop speech recognition for Ghanaian local languages, including Twi, Ewe, Dagbani and Hausa, to improve accessibility in education and digital services.
The rollout complements the company’s pan-African student offer. In August 2026, Google expanded free 12-month access to Google AI Plus, including Gemini Advanced, NotebookLM, Veo 3 for video generation, and 2TB of storage, for eligible higher-education students in 27 African countries, including Ghana.
The offer, which requires verification through SheerID, provides tools such as the Student Hub for organising studies, study notebooks that turn lecture notes into quizzes, interactive visualisations, and Deep Research.
Within Ghana, UG is the second major public university to adopt Gemini at scale. The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) announced in August 2026 that it had secured 95,000 Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals licences through its E-Learning Centre, led by Ing. Prof. Emmanuel Kofi Akowuah.
KNUST’s deployment uses Single Sign-On with existing university credentials and is provided under Google’s Core Services framework, meaning institutional data is not used to train public AI models.
Training for faculty began in September 2026, with a physical Gemini Academy scheduled for November.
The initiative aligns with Google’s partnership with the African Union Commission to bring Gemini for Education and NotebookLM to universities across all 55 member states, with a target of training at least 150,000 students and faculty by 2027.
For UG, the partnership is governed by the University’s AI Policy, which covers all use of third-party AI platforms, including ChatGPT, Gemini, GitHub Copilot, and Grammarly, in teaching, learning, research, and administration, and emphasises data protection, intellectual property, and academic integrity.
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