SCERT Uttarakhand’s AI-Enabled Teacher Training Initiative Recognised Among the World’s Top Six
Global Finalist in the Teacher Training Award Category at the AI for Education Awards 2026
Dehradun, Uttarakhand | July 2026
The recognition was announced during the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, Switzerland. The international competition brought together innovative educational initiatives from 47 countries across six continents and 38,000 projects, making this achievement a remarkable milestone for the school education system of Uttarakhand and India.
Transforming Teacher Professional Development through AI
The recognised project represents the vision of SCERT Uttarakhand to build a scalable, inclusive and sustainable professional learning ecosystem for teachers. It integrates Artificial Intelligence, Information and Communication Technology, Massive Open Online Courses, digital learning resources, interactive assessments and self-paced learning opportunities.
Through these MOOCs, thousands of teachers have strengthened their digital competencies, developed confidence in the responsible use of AI and learned to design more engaging, inclusive and learner-centred classroom experiences. The initiative views AI not merely as a technology, but as a tool for supporting ethical, reflective and meaningful teaching practices.
A Collective Achievement
This global recognition reflects the collective efforts of the School Education Department, Government of Uttarakhand, under the academic leadership of SCERT Uttarakhand.
The project was developed and implemented through the leadership and contribution of Bandana Garbyal, Director, Academic Research and Training, and Ramesh Prasad Badoni, Faculty, IT Department, SCERT Uttarakhand, along with the dedicated MOOCs team, technical team, content developers, reviewers and academic contributors.
Leadership and Institutional Support
We also express our sincere gratitude to Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, whose visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to digital governance, innovation, and technology-enabled education have created an enabling ecosystem for transformative educational initiatives in the state. His emphasis on preparing youth with future-ready skills has inspired institutions to adopt cutting-edge technologies for quality education. We are equally thankful to Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, whose visionary initiatives such as Digital India, AI for All, the National Education Policy 2020, and the national focus on Artificial Intelligence have laid a strong foundation for building a digitally empowered education ecosystem. His vision of nurturing innovation, technology, and AI-enabled learning continues to inspire educators across the country to prepare future-ready citizens capable of contributing to a knowledge-driven and self-reliant India.
SCERT Uttarakhand expresses its sincere gratitude to Ravinath Raman, IAS, Secretary, School Education, Government of Uttarakhand, for his visionary guidance and continued encouragement for digital transformation and teacher capacity building.
Special thanks are extended to Akanksha Konde, IAS, Director General, School Education, Uttarakhand, whose leadership has consistently encouraged innovation, quality improvement and the meaningful integration of technology in education.
SCERT also conveys its heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Dhan Singh Rawat, Hon’ble Minister for School Education, Uttarakhand, for his continuous support for teacher empowerment, digital learning and future-oriented educational initiatives.
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Gratitude to Teachers, Faculty and Support Teams
This achievement belongs to every teacher who embraced lifelong learning and completed the online courses with dedication. The enthusiasm, feedback and willingness of teachers from elementary, upper-primary, secondary and senior-secondary schools gave the project its true strength and purpose.
Heartfelt appreciation is also extended to Additional Director Padmendra Saklani, Assistant Director Dr K N Bijalwan, the faculty members of SCERT Uttarakhand, all 13 District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs), district and block education teams, academic coordinators, course writers, reviewers, video experts, resource persons, instructional designers, multimedia professionals and technical support personnel.
Their combined efforts transformed an innovative idea into a state-wide professional learning movement capable of reaching educators across varied geographical and institutional contexts.
Valuable National Collaboration
SCERT Uttarakhand gratefully acknowledges the continuous academic and technical support received from CIET–NCERT, NCERT and their dedicated teams. Their guidance in digital education, e-content development, teacher training, platform readiness and technology integration has strengthened Uttarakhand’s capacity-building initiatives over the years.
The support of national institutions and partner organisations has helped align the project with the goals of the National Education Policy 2020, Digital India and the broader vision of equitable, technology-enabled quality education.
Looking Ahead
Recognition among the world’s top teacher-training innovations is not only an honour but also a responsibility. SCERT Uttarakhand remains committed to expanding AI-enabled professional learning, developing next-generation MOOCs, strengthening digital pedagogy and supporting teachers with innovative resources for an AI-driven future.
This milestone demonstrates that teacher-centred, scalable and inclusive innovations developed in Uttarakhand can make a meaningful contribution to the global education community.
