Reshaping education for the AI era will take teamwork

The Atlassian Foundation is deploying US$8 million over the next two years to help learners from under-resourced communities thrive in the AI era. If you’re driving collective action in this space, we want to hear from you.

The Atlassian Foundation’s call for proposals is open now until 30 October 2026 (11:59 pm AEDT).

We’re seeking partnerships with nonprofits that are teaming up at every level to evolve education in the AI era.

Together, we want to shape a future where emerging technology closes gaps for learners the current system leaves behind.

Each partnership will be eligible for up to US$1 million in funding over two years, in addition to a learning cohort and non-financial support including Atlassian tools and expertise.

This is our moment to reshape education

UNESCO estimates that 57% of children worldwide (nearly one billion) are failing to acquire basic literacy, numeracy and socio-emotional skills. In fact, student performance in reading and mathematics has fallen to the lowest average ever recorded by the OECD.

AI brings the potential for seismic change. Done well, AI can expand access to high-quality learning, strengthen teacher capacity, and accelerate pathways to economic opportunity. Done poorly, it will deepen inequities for learners already furthest from opportunity.

The choices we make now will echo for generations. Incremental improvements to existing education systems won’t be enough – this moment demands genuine transformation.

A better world, built with better teamwork

A challenge this complex is impossible for any single organisation to solve alone. It’s going to take collaboration between schools, nonprofits, NGOs, government, the private sector and communities. That’s why we’re backing collective action: multiple players working together through shared goals, delivery and learning.

Atlassian is uniquely positioned to power this work. Our mission is to unleash the potential of every team. We’ve spent 20+ years learning what makes teams work well together and we’re bringing that expertise – plus funding, tools and support – to help collective action initiatives go further, faster.

We believe a better world is built with better teamwork, and collective action is teamwork at its most ambitious.

Meet our first partners

This open call builds on partnerships we’ve already established with:

We look forward to adding more partners to this cohort to share what’s working to evolve education in the AI era, with each other and the wider sector.

Apply now

This call is open globally to registered nonprofits. We’re inviting applications from initiatives that meet all three of these criteria:

Direct relief of disadvantage

• Work that directly relieves poverty or disadvantage for a clearly identified beneficiary group.

Collective action

• Multiple players working together – through shared goals, delivery & learning – to solve systemic challenges no single organisation can tackle alone.
• Learn more about how we define collective action.

Evolving education in the AI era

• Initiatives helping education evolve so emerging technology closes gaps for disadvantaged learners.
• This call is not about AI for AI’s sake. It is about how the education sector, at all levels, responds to this seismic technological shift.
• Where AI is used, its use is deliberate, appropriate and accompanied by consideration of risks and safeguards. Where AI is not used, the rationale for that choice is equally well considered.

If this is a good fit for the work you’re doing, we’d love to hear from you.

Atlassian Foundation – Our impact at a glance

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