OpenAI expands Academy with new trainer programme

OpenAI said it was extending OpenAI Academy with a community trainer pilot and new learning paths. It said the programme, launched in September 2024, was intended to give people AI training, technical guidance and community support.

The company said Academy had held more than 250 events and had reached more than 4 million people over two years. It said the audience had included educators, small business owners, developers, non-profit leaders and community members.

OpenAI said Academy had also grown to include self-paced courses, practical guides, in-person workshops and multi-site AI Skills Jams. It said one AI Skills Jam for K–12 educators had brought together more than 1,600 teachers, administrators and district leaders across eight U.S. cities.

Under the Community Trainer Program, participating organisations would nominate staff to learn the curriculum and the workshop format before leading sessions themselves. OpenAI said the aim was to make training available closer to where people live and work.

OpenAI said the new learning paths covered knowledge workers, developers, leaders, educators and college students, and that learners could earn course badges by passing assessments. It said people could use ChatGPT to adapt a lesson and Codex to plan and carry out a software change while keeping human review in place.