In a career spanning over three decades, Gopi has been extensively involved in the development of teacher education in Singapore. He served as the Dean of the School of Education from 1994-2000 and was appointed Professor of Education in April 1999. He is founding editor of the Singapore Journal of Education and is currently co-edits the Asia Pacific Journal of Education.

Gopi has served on various Ministry of Education review committees. He was also involved in setting up the Singapore Centre for Teaching Thinking, the Principals Executive Centre and is also a founder member of the Educational Research Association of Singapore. He is a member of the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board, an Advisor to the Singapore Teachers Union, the Ngee Ann Polytechnic, and is an Adjunct Professor at UniSIM. He is currently involved in projects to establish teacher training facilities in Abu Dhabi, in Bahrain and in Indonesia. He has served as a consultant to the World Bank, Unesco, Unicef, and the Commonwealth of Learning, the Hong Kong Institute of Education, University Brunei Darusaalam and the Aga Khan University Institute of Education.