Ohio State University and Google announced a partnership on 29 September that will give university researchers access to more than 200 AI models and establish an on-campus AI space in Ohio State’s Innovation District, according to Google Cloud’s announcement.
Key points
- Google says Ohio State researchers will gain access to AI-optimised computing and technology from Google DeepMind.
- Gemini Enterprise and Gemini Notebook form part of the campus access programme, while Google says select students, faculty and staff will receive Gemini Enterprise.
- The partnership includes a student research ambassador programme and an athletics platform covering all 36 Buckeye sports.
Google DeepMind access for Ohio State researchers
The planned Innovation District space will bring Google Cloud engineers together with university researchers and Google DeepMind collaborations. Google says the research work will span biomedical engineering, earth sciences and the humanities, with access to AI-optimised supercomputing systems alongside its models.
Google identifies AlphaFold, Google Earth Engine and AlphaEvolve among the technologies available to Ohio State researchers. It also says the university is in an initial group of R1 research institutions set to receive enterprise access to Google’s AI research agents through Gemini Enterprise. Google describes those agents as tools for generating and testing scientific hypotheses.
Karen Dahut, chief executive of Google Public Sector, called the arrangement “one of our largest and most comprehensive education partnerships to date”. That is Google’s assessment of the partnership’s scale. The announced provisions cover research computing, access to AI products, a physical university space and programmes involving students.
Ohio State President Ravi V. Bellamkonda outlined the planned hub in his State of the University address on 17 September, Ohio Tech News reported. He said Google engineers would work alongside graduate students, student researchers, faculty and staff on university projects. The announcement on 29 September sets out the products and research technologies intended for that collaboration.
Gemini access and Ohio State’s AI Fluency programme
Google says the initiative will make Gemini Enterprise and Gemini Notebook available through Google for Education as part of a campuswide access programme. Its description of individual users is narrower: select students, faculty and staff will have access to Google Workspace for Education and Gemini Enterprise.
The products are tied to Ohio State’s AI Fluency initiative. The university wants students beginning with the Class of 2029 to graduate able to apply AI in their academic disciplines, Ohio Tech News reported. The programme extends beyond researchers to undergraduate teaching at a university with more than 68,000 students across six campuses, according to Google Cloud.
Google says Ohio State will also introduce a round-the-clock virtual assistant for students, powered by Google Cloud AI. The university intends it to help with academic advising, registrar services and career planning. Those uses concern routine student services, distinct from the DeepMind tools and computing resources designated for research.
A student research ambassador programme will recruit Ohio State students to work with Google teams. Google Public Sector describes the arrangement as a first for its ambassador programmes. Together with the planned campus space, it gives students a role in the collaboration beyond access to software for coursework.
Project SCARLET covers 36 Buckeye sports
The partnership also includes Project SCARLET, which Google describes as an AI-powered platform developed with the Ohio State Athletics Performance Innovation Team. It is designed to apply predictive models, computer vision and analytics to athlete training, recovery and health across all 36 Buckeye sports.
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