National Initiative
CBPAI
Capacity Building Program on Artificial Intelligence.
CBPAI — the Capacity Building Program on Artificial Intelligence, funded by the Ministry of Education, Government of India (MoE / UGC-MMTTP). With so many AI programmes running nationwide, why choose this one? Because we pivot away from a "tools-first" approach: AI literacy is not merely about mastering prompts or new software — it is about learning how to think alongside a new kind of intelligence.
How we train
We treat AI as a pedagogical partner — focusing on the ethical weight of our choices and the critical evaluation of machine output, rather than a tools-first checklist of prompts and software.
Above all, the classroom stays human-centred. We nudge participants to reflect, question, and design their own approaches to teaching a generation growing up in a world where AI is fundamental to how they live, learn, and think.
CBPAI does not test recall. The final project asks each participant to build a classroom artifact — a lesson plan, resource, interactive tool, or website — using AI tools from the programme, with a reflective report on how it changes their practice. Many have piloted these with students. A certificate signals demonstrated application, not attendance.
Who this is for
This programme is designed for faculty across all disciplines — STEM, humanities, social sciences, commerce, law, and health sciences. Every cohort begins from first principles, assuming no prior technical knowledge. The goal is that a faculty member from law and one from computer science can sit in the same cohort, and neither feels left behind or unchallenged. Delivery is fully online and asynchronous-first, so faculty from universities across all states and UTs — particularly from Tier 2 and Tier 3 institutions underrepresented in AI training initiatives — can access quality capacity building without disrupting their teaching schedules.
Two levels: Foundations and Advanced
Fourteen Foundations cohorts have run since February 2025, covering conceptual AI literacy, applied tools, prompt engineering, and the ethical and policy dimensions of AI in education.
For faculty who have completed Foundations or bring equivalent prior exposure, the Advanced programme launched in February 2026 and is now in its second cohort — going deeper into technical territory and discipline-specific applications.
A benchmarking instrument for Indian higher education
A core research output of CBPAI is a 26-item AI-literacy benchmarking instrument, currently in expert validation and pilot testing. It is designed to measure faculty AI readiness across disciplines — not just STEM — with a pedagogy-first lens.
There is no comparable standardised instrument currently available in the Indian higher-education context — making this an original contribution to the field.
Together, GuruSetu and CBPAI have reached over 3,500 faculty across India, with more than 600 certified — a distinction that separates structured completion from passive participation. Combined funding secured: ₹2,15,00,000. Missed joining a cohort? You can register for the upcoming one, and recordings of past sessions and trainings are available too.