AI in Indian Higher Education
Field research on AI awareness, informal learning, and infrastructure gaps across Tier 1, 2, and 3 institutions.
RESEARCH DIVISION
AI Research at
Penta Minds
A student-led research division studying how artificial intelligence intersects with education, policy, and society. Field-grounded, evidence-based, and designed to produce outputs that matter.
Research Areas
AI Literacy & Policy
Developing evidence-based recommendations for responsible AI integration in Indian academic contexts.
Student Innovation Systems
Studying the organisational conditions that enable student-led research to produce credible, scalable outputs.
Active Projects
Project 01
AI Grand Challenge 2026
GPAI India Student Community - AI in Indian Higher Education
The AI Grand Challenge is an international student research competition organised under the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) and Inria, France. Penta Minds is participating through the GPAI India Student Community, conducting original field research on how AI is understood, used, and encountered by students and faculty across Tier 1, 2, and 3 higher education institutions in India.
Research Direction
Investigating the informal learning of AI in Indian higher education - what students know, how they learned it, and what the gaps in formal literacy look like across institution types.
Contribution
Producing a structured survey dataset, field visit observations, a Policy Brief, and an AI Literacy Toolkit - all submitted to OECD through GPAI frameworks.
Ecosystem Relevance
This project is the founding research initiative of Penta Minds, establishing the team's credibility, methodology, and output standards.
Timeline
March 2026
Registration & Team Formation
April 2026
Survey Launch & Institution Outreach
April-May 2026
Field Data Collection
May 2026
Data Compilation
June 2026
Analysis & Final Report
Project 02
AI as the Hidden Curriculum
How Learning is Happening Through AI Without Being Taught
AI as the Hidden Curriculum is the core research initiative examining how students in Indian higher education are learning to use AI tools informally - outside any structured curriculum. The central question is: what does it mean when an entire generation of students is developing AI competency through trial, error, and peer learning, without institutional acknowledgment or guidance?
Objective
To document the informal AI learning behaviours of students across institution tiers, and identify the structural gaps between student AI use and institutional AI policy.
Methodology
Field surveys across 9+ institutions in Tamil Nadu, faculty interviews, institutional observation, and a nationwide online survey instrument.
Current Stage
Active preparation and foundation phase.
Upcoming Plans
Data collection, field visits, thematic analysis, policy brief drafting, surevy dataset publication and AI Literacy Toolkit Version 2 finalisation by December 2026.
Publications & Outputs
Since March 2026
Research Report
AI as the Hidden Curriculum: A Student-Led Evidence Based Report
Study ReportAI Literacy Toolkit
The Ground-Up AI Literacy Toolkit for Indian institutions
Access ToolkitDatasets
Survey Dataset - AI as the Hidden Curriculum
Access: Post-December 2026.
Participate in Our Research
Penta Minds is collecting student and faculty responses on AI awareness, informal learning, institutional policy, and responsible use across Indian higher education.
Survey is live
Student Survey
Faculty Survey
Take the Survey
Open to students and faculty across all institution types in India.
Collaborate with Research
Academic Partnerships
Institutional collaboration for field research, methodology review, and dissemination.
Data Sharing
Responsible data partnerships aligned with student privacy and research ethics.
Field Research Partners
Regional collaborators who can support institution outreach and survey administration.