According to Google, ”We’re rolling out our most advanced AI tools for learning to university students in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, free of charge”

Programme details and how to get free access

Since the earliest days of Search and YouTube, learning has been central to our work. Today, we’re making a targeted initiative to give eligible university students across Africa access to Google’s most advanced tools for learning and research.

Eligible students aged 18 and over in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe can sign up for a 12‑month Google AI Pro Plan at no cost. The free access lasts for one year and gives students a suite of advanced tools to support coursework, deep research and creative projects.

What’s included (high level)

• Expanded access to Gemini 2.5 Pro: our most capable model for homework, writing help and interactive guided learning — ask questions, upload images and get context-aware answers.
• Deep Research: faster literature gathering and custom research reports that draw from hundreds of sources — ideal for essays, dissertations and capstone projects.
• NotebookLM: a thinking companion that organises notes and offers audio and video overviews to help structure ideas and study material.
• Veo 3: transform text or an image into a short, high‑fidelity clip — useful for film modules, presentations and multimedia assignments (see video examples on the website).
• Nano Banana: advanced image generation and editing for prototypes, posters, logos and visual design projects.
• 2 TB of storage: ample cloud space across Google Photos, Drive and Gmail for notes, research data and project files.

How to sign up: visit gemini.google/students, complete the student verification (student email or document), and follow the prompts to activate your 12‑month pro plan. The offer is available while supplies last — sign-ups close on 9 December (check the website for any date updates).

Quick, local examples

• A Nigerian engineering student uses Deep Research to compile a literature review for a capstone project, saving weeks of time in source discovery and citation.
• A South African media student uses Veo 3 and Nano Banana to create b‑roll and mock up a promotional video for a campus film festival.

Privacy & data: the plan uses Google Cloud storage — details on data handling, residency and privacy are available in the programme terms on the website. If you’re a university administrator interested in campus‑wide access or partnerships, there are options to work with us — see the partner page on the website.

Learn more and sign up for the 12‑month Google AI Pro Plan at no cost by 9 December.

Helping students get the most out of Gemini

AI can broaden and deepen access to knowledge, helping anyone learn in the way that works best for them. It’s not just about getting an answer: it’s about building understanding, critical thinking and practical skills for the future.

To support learning, we’ve introduced Guided Learning — a mode within Gemini that acts as a learning companion, prompting questions and offering step‑by‑step support. Guided Learning helps students work through complex problems, structure arguments, begin essays, prepare for exams and test understanding with interactive quizzes.

Practical uses for students

• Study and revision: use Guided Learning to break down a difficult topic into manageable steps and test comprehension with quick quizzes.
• Assessment prep: generate practice questions and plan essay outlines for faster, more focused revision.
• Creative work: Nano Banana and Veo 3 enable students to prototype visuals and short videos for presentations, design modules or campus events.

With Nano Banana’s image generation and editing, students can reimagine photos and turn abstract ideas into striking visuals — ideal for mockups, posters or club branding. Veo 3 turns text or images into cinematic, short clips to accelerate multimedia projects (see example videos on the website).

Expanding access to AI-powered tools for educators

We launched Gemini for Education — a version of the Gemini app tailored to educators — and made Gemini in Classroom available across Google Workspace for Education editions free of charge, adding more than 30 capabilities to help teachers plan, create engaging materials and personalise feedback.

For university lecturers and administrators, these tools can streamline lesson planning, automate routine tasks and free time for mentorship and research supervision. We are partnering with universities globally (including initiatives across Africa) to pilot campus programmes that foster AI literacy and innovation.

How universities can get involved

• Request campus access or discuss partnerships via the partner page on the website (links above).
• Adopt Gemini for Education to integrate guided learning into modules and assessments.
• Use NotebookLM as a teaching aid to organise course materials and produce multimedia summaries for students.

By giving university students access to these advanced tools, we hope to equip a new generation of leaders, creators and researchers with the technology and skills to compete on the global stage and drive Africa’s digital transformation. We’re excited to see how young Africans will use these resources to develop ideas, projects and research that shape the future.

Common questions: see the FAQ on the website for details on privacy, data storage in Google Cloud, eligibility and verification steps, and whether the programme is available across specific countries such as South Africa.