The University of Ghana (UG) has partnered with Google to secure more than 96,000 licences for "Gemini for Education", giving students and staff access to artificial intelligence tools for learning, research and administration, according to a report by the Ghana News Agency (GNA).
The university says the initiative is aimed at building digital skills, supporting research and improving teaching across its campuses.
Emmanuel Adeniyi, Google's Higher Education Lead for West and Central Africa, said employers are increasingly looking for graduates who can work with AI. "For many of them, they are prioritising students who show evidence of competencies in Artificial Intelligence," he said, according to GNA.
He said Gemini was built with learning science in mind and includes enterprise-grade data protection to safeguard institutional information.
As part of the partnership, Google held a two-day Gemini AI training workshop for faculty and administrative staff from various colleges and the university's central administration, GNA reports. The sessions focused on how to use AI tools responsibly in academic and administrative work.
Professor Sandow Mark Yidana, Provost of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, said the partnership fits UG's strategic vision. He urged trained staff to act as AI champions in their units and to train colleagues and students.
He also stressed ethics and academic integrity. "As we embrace Artificial Intelligence, we must remain mindful of the associated responsibilities," he said, according to GNA. He added that AI-generated output must be checked critically, and that data protection, intellectual property and confidentiality must be managed in line with the university's AI policy.
According to GNA, the University of Ghana's AI policy covers all third-party AI platforms used in teaching, learning, research and administration, including ChatGPT, Gemini, GitHub Copilot and Grammarly. The policy emphasises data protection, intellectual property and academic integrity.
GNA describes UG as the second major public university in Ghana to adopt Google's education AI tools at scale. In August 2026, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology announced that it had secured 95,000 Google Workspace for Education licences, the agency reports.
The move also follows a memorandum of understanding signed in June 2026 between the Ministry of Education and Google for Education to bring AI into Ghanaian classrooms, including curriculum-aligned content, teacher training and zero-rated access, GNA reports. Google is also working with UG and the Ghana Digital Innovation Hub on speech recognition for Twi, Ewe, Dagbani and Hausa.
Across Africa, Google has announced a partnership with the African Union Commission to bring its education AI tools to universities in all 55 member states, with a target of training at least 150,000 students and faculty by 2027, according to the report.
GNA's report did not give the duration or cost of the licences, or explain exactly how they will be distributed among students and staff. A physical "Gemini Academy" is scheduled for November 2026.
Generative AI tools are changing how students study, how researchers work and how universities run their operations. Giving students supervised access, alongside clear rules on academic integrity, could help Ghanaian graduates compete in a job market where AI skills are becoming more valuable.
At the same time, universities around the world are grappling with how to prevent misuse, such as AI-written assignments, while encouraging responsible use. UG's emphasis on its AI policy shows it is trying to strike that balance.
The partnership comes as the university reopens after the end of the GAUA strike, with lectures due to begin on October 26.
