OpenAI and UNILAG Launch First OpenAI Academy in Africa

OpenAI has partnered with the University of Lagos (UNILAG) to launch the first OpenAI Academy chapter in Africa. The initiative, unveiled during UNILAG’s International Week on 16 October 2025, is set to give students, educators, and professionals across Nigeria structured access to AI training and learning resources.

A Strategic Choice for Expansion

The selection of UNILAG reflects the university’s growing role in AI research and capacity building in West Africa. Emmanuel Lubanzadio, OpenAI’s Africa lead, announced the partnership at the event, highlighting the university’s leadership in machine intelligence and its active academic community as key reasons for the collaboration.

The partnership builds on UNILAG’s existing work through its Machine Intelligence Research Group, which has been driving AI education and research in the region.

Training Over Infrastructure

The OpenAI Academy initiative is designed to provide free, structured learning through OpenAI’s education platform. It offers self-paced courses, workshops, and community-led sessions focused on practical AI applications, including ChatGPT and developer tools.

While the launch represents a major milestone for local AI education, it is not the establishment of an OpenAI research lab in Nigeria. The chapter will focus on learning and capacity-building, not research infrastructure.

Opening AI Access to More Nigerians

The academy will target students, researchers, industry professionals, and government officials, enabling a broader audience to build technical and non-technical AI skills. Local facilitators and OpenAI representatives will coordinate sessions on campus and extend access to learners across the region.

A Defining Moment for Local AI Talent

This launch positions Nigeria as a strategic entry point for OpenAI’s educational expansion in Africa. It also signals a shift from viewing AI solely as a global technology to making it locally accessible. For Nigerian students and innovators, it represents a new opportunity to build future-ready skills at scale.