Classroom Complexity
01
in collaboration with
presents
AI for Foundational
Learning Hackathon
Founding Strategic Partners
Managing Partner
Knowledge Partner
Powered by
Registration & first submission deadline
27 Sept 2026Push the boundaries of innovation for India’s most critical foundational learning challenges. Build the next generation of AI solutions.
- 2-4 Member Teams
- Age 18+
- Indian citizens
- Hybrid
- Cash awards worth ₹ 10 Lakhs
- $20,000 in cumulative Claude credits
Millions of children.
Five critical challenges.
One opportunity to build what comes
next.
India has one of the world’s largest school systems, but millions of children still struggle to build foundational reading and maths skills. In rural India, ASER 2024 finds that around 7 in 10 Grade 3 children can’t read a Grade 2-level text, while roughly 2 in 3 cannot do basic subtraction. Teachers and education systems also face constraints, from multi-grade classrooms to limited data utilization to support every learner.
AI is transforming what technology can do but its potential to solve India’s toughest educational challenges remains largely untapped.
Now is the time to put that power to work on five critical foundational learning challenges, identified and prioritised by leading organisations focussing on education in India. Using real problems, real resources and frontier AI, this hackathon challenges innovators to turn bold ideas into working solutions.
The challenge is
yours to solve.
Over a span of 10 weeks, turn bold, ambitious ideas into working prototypes that push beyond existing solutions to strengthen foundational learning for children from low-income communities and explore how rapid advances in AI can unlock entirely new ways of solving problems in the Indian classroom.
Eligibility Criteria
18 years or older at the time of registration
Open to Indian citizens, including Indian students students and professionals who are currently studying or working abroad.
Register as an individual or an individual-led team, not as an organisation.
Why build with us?
Compete for ₹ 10 Lakhs total in cash awards, for top 3 final solutions and 5 best ideas from the Ideate stage.
Present your working prototype to a jury of education and AI leaders at the final presentations.
Mentorship sessions with education leaders, AI practitioners, and people who have built at scale in India.
Put frontier models and tools to work on real classroom problems across a 10-week build stage.
Solutions designed for the Indian classroom, grounded in real constraints and real need.
The challenges worth solving
Great technology starts with understanding the people it is built for. These resources will help you understand their realities and why these problems matter.
- Systemic Drivers of Foundational Learning Outcomes (Central Square Foundation, 2021)
- School Education System in India: Temporal Analysis and Policy Roadmap for Quality Enhancement (NITI Aayog, 2026)
- Bharat Survey for EdTech (Central Square Foundation, 2025)
- Casebook on the Real-World Impact of AI in Education (IndiaAI Mission, Central Square Foundation & EkStep Foundation, 2026)
Classroom Complexity
01
Learning - Level Visibility
02
Teacher Support & Training
03
Data To Action
04
System Capacity
05
Each challenge is complex, with many interconnected parts. We’re not expecting you to solve the complete challenge. Instead, identify one meaningful part of the challenge and solve it thoughtfully, deeply, and well.
Cash Prize worth
₹10,00,000
2
1st Runner Up
₹2,50,000
1
Winner
₹3,50,000
3
2nd Runner Up
₹1,50,000
Top 5 strongest ideas from the Ideate stage each receive
₹50,000$20,000
In cumulative Claude credits for the Top 30 teams to build with frontier AI
Hackathon
Timeline
Three Stages: Ideate, Build, and Finals, each with its own deadline and its own shortlist.
Meet Our Experts
Jury
Education Mentors
Tech Mentors
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Participation is completely free at every stage.
No. The hackathon is open to students, educators, tech enthusiasts, innovators, and professionals from education non-profits. Teams can mix skills.
There are three stages — Ideate, Build, and Finals — each with its own deadline and shortlist. The first deadline is an Ideate submission; later stages ask for a working prototype and a final presentation.
Registered teams that reach Build stage will get access to education and tech mentors through the programme, including expert-led sessions on the problem statements. We will share guidenes for virtual mentor connects on the platform.
Yes. The hackathon is built around using frontier AI to solve foundational learning challenges in Indian classrooms. The 30 teams progressing to the Build Stage will receive USD 500 per team in Claude LLM credits. Details on how the credits will be provided will be shared with selected teams at the beginning of the Build Stage.
Foundational Literacy & Numeracy Partners
FLN Focused Organisations
Edtech Organisations working on FLN
