Punjab hosts AI Hackathon for Govt school students; over 1,000 trained in emerging technologies

Mohali: In a step towards integrating emerging technologies into school education, the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) organised an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Hackathon as the grand finale of a pilot project aimed at building AI skills among govt school students.The initiative, launched in collaboration with the First Academy of Artificial Intelligence (FAAI) and Skilleareum, covered more than 1,000 students and 22 teachers from 22 schools across the state. As part of the programme, students underwent 12 weeks of live, interactive online training sessions conducted by AI experts. Punjab School education minister Harjot Singh Bains said the initiative was designed to promote innovation, technical skills, creativity and leadership among students, while encouraging them to explore entrepreneurship. "This is not just a competition but a movement to prepare our children for the future. AI is the language of today, and we are ensuring that students in govt schools are ready to lead in the technological era," he said. He added that the state govt plans to expand AI education to more schools in the coming academic session, emphasising that such initiatives would help students compete at the highest level. PSEB chairperson Dr Amarpal Singh said the hackathon witnessed participation from 20 schools, with 60 students competing in teams of three. Each team was given one hour to present its projects, which were evaluated by a panel of AI experts. Students showcased skills in areas such as innovation, video creation, business planning and web development using modern AI tools. Among the winners, PSEB Adarsh Senior Secondary School, Khatkar Kalan, secured the first prize of Rs 11,000. Ravinder Khullar Memorial GM Model Senior Secondary School, Jalandhar, won the second prize of Rs 5,100, while Shaheed Udham Singh Wala Government Senior Secondary School (Boys), Sunam, secured the third prize of Rs 3,100. Consolation prizes of Rs 3,100 each were awarded to GTB Khalsa Senior Secondary Public School, Dasuya, and Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Mandi Gobindgarh. MSID:: 129803335 413 |