Google is offering third-level students in Ireland 12 months of free access to its Gemini AI Plus subscription, worth €260. It is part of a Google Ireland initiative, launched on September 24th, that also includes a national competition with more than €10,000 in prizes.
The free year comes with 400GB of cloud storage, unlimited file uploads, Study Notebooks, and Gemini Live, which lets you talk to the AI out loud. To claim it, sign in to your personal Google account, go to the Gemini for Students page and click “Get student offer”. You’ll need to verify your student status with your college email and add a payment method. You won’t be charged during the free year, but the subscription automatically switches to a paid monthly plan after 12 months, so set a reminder to cancel if you don’t want to keep it.
The competition, Gemini for Students Prompting Championships, is open to students in any discipline, and students do not need a technical background. Entrants are judged on how well they use AI prompts to solve everyday problems like budgeting or revision. You submit your prompts online first. Shortlisted finalists then compete live at Google’s Dublin office for prizes including Google hardware, AI certifications, and an invite to an exclusive Google event.
Google is also starting Gemini Academy, a series of free, hands-on AI workshops for students and staff, on campuses across Ireland, though it hasn’t said which colleges are included.
Separately, New Futures: AI, a free AI skills programme for students heading into non-technical careers like marketing, finance and admin, is being offered at Maynooth and DCU. It’s run by the nonprofit INCO, funded as part of a $750,000 Google.org grant to INCO and Chance. INCO says it plans to expand the program to more universities in the future.
Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless said that, used well, AI, “can help make study more accessible, support creativity and problem-solving”.
Students should check Trinity’s rules before using AI for coursework. Guidance is available on the Centre for Academic Practice’s GenAI Hub, and students can claim the offer and register for the competition, which closes on October 22nd, on the event website.
