Research Projects

Active Initiatives

Two student-led research projects addressing the intersection of AI, education, and policy in India. Built through field work, surveys, and systematic evidence gathering.

AI Grand Challenge Hidden Curriculum ← Back to Penta Minds
2 Active ProjectsResearch Initiatives
9+ InstitutionsField Research Reach
June 2026Outputs Expected

Our Projects

Penta Minds currently operates two interconnected research projects. Both sit under the AI Grand Challenge 2026, organised through the GPAI India Student Community and Inria, France. The projects share a research team, field infrastructure, and a common output: a Policy Brief and AI Literacy Toolkit submitted to the OECD.

Project 01

Flagship research initiative

PROJECT 01

AI Grand Challenge 2026

GPAI India Student Community · AI in Indian Higher Education

RoleFoundational Research Initiative
TimelineMarch – June 2026
StatusCompleted
Output TypePolicy Brief · AI Literacy Toolkit

The AI Grand Challenge is an international student research competition organised under the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) and Inria, France. Team 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, Tier 2, and Tier 3 higher education institutions in India. Research outputs will be submitted to the OECD through GPAI policy frameworks.

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 when compared across institution types and geographic regions.

Contribution

Producing a structured survey dataset, field visit observations, a Policy Brief on AI in Indian Higher Education, and the Ground-Up AI Literacy Toolkit — all submitted through GPAI to OECD policy channels.

Ecosystem Significance

This project is the founding research initiative of Penta Minds. It establishes the team's methodology, field credibility, and output standards for all future research operations.

Affiliations

GPAI India Student Community COL-CEMCA Inria, France — Organising Body OECD — Output Audience

Project Timeline

March 2026Registration & Team Formation
April 2026Survey Launch & Institution Outreach
April–May 2026Field Data Collection — 9+ Institutions
May 2026Data Compilation & Organisation
June 2026Analysis, Policy Brief & Toolkit Publication

Project 02

Core research inquiry

PROJECT 02

AI as the Hidden Curriculum

How Learning is Happening Through AI Without Being Taught

RolePrincipal Investigation
TimelineJuly – December 2026
StageActive Preparation and Foundation Phase
Output TypeResearch Report · Survey Dataset · AI Literacy Toolkit V2

AI as the Hidden Curriculum is the core research inquiry examining how students in Indian higher education are learning to use AI tools informally — outside any structured curriculum or institutional guidance. The central question: what does it mean when an entire generation of students is developing AI competency through trial, error, and peer observation, without the institution acknowledging it? This project generates the primary evidence base for the AI Grand Challenge submission.

Objective

To document the informal AI learning behaviours of students across Tier 1, 2, and 3 institutions and identify the structural gap between how students use AI and what institutions know, acknowledge, or address.

Methodology

Field surveys across 9+ institutions in Tamil Nadu, structured faculty interviews, institutional observation visits across Thanjavur, Trichy, Kumbakonam, and Delhi NCR, supplemented by a national online survey instrument.

Current Stage

Active Preparation and Foundation Phase.

Upcoming Plans

Collection of data through field visits. Thematic analysis of survey and field data. Draft policy brief by December 2026. AI Literacy Toolkit finalisation and CC-licensed publication. GPAI submission and OECD routing.

Affiliations & Context


AI Grand Challenge

The institutional ecosystem that gives this research its reach and credibility

GPAI India Student Community

The Global Partnership on AI India Student Community connects student researchers across India working on AI governance, literacy, and policy. Penta Minds participates as an active research team contributing field evidence to the national AI discourse.

Inria, France — Organising Body

Inria is the French national research institute for digital sciences and the organising body for the AI Grand Challenge. Their involvement contextualises this research within an international student innovation framework linked to OECD policy processes.

OECD — Output Audience

Research outputs produced by Penta Minds — including the Policy Brief and AI Literacy Toolkit — are submitted through GPAI channels to the OECD, ensuring findings reach international education policy decision-makers.

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Projects Division · Team Penta Minds · GPAI India Student Community

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