Young Scholars Programme Kolkata Learning Sprint 2026

Young Scholars Programme Kolkata Learning Sprint 2026

Artificial Intelligence: Applications, Impact & Society
Demystify AI, Work Across Modalities, and Drive Data-Driven Impact

The Ashoka Young Scholars Programme (YSP) Kolkata Learning Sprint 2026 introduces Artificial Intelligence: Applications, Impact & Society, a certified, intensive, city based, accelerated and experiential learning programme in Technology & AI for high schoolers entering grades 9-12. Guided by accomplished academicians and seasoned practitioners, this hands-on journey takes learners from theory to practice through masterclasses focusing on AI as a probabilistic pattern-recognition system, and interactive workshops where they will translate real-world problems into questions, analyse the data using AI and critically interpret its results and limitations with a critical evaluation of model behaviour, strengths, and limitations. The programme introduces students to critical modes of thought in a socio-technical landscape increasingly mediated by Artificial Intelligence.

The programme brings together Ashoka University’s globally renowned faculty and trailblazing industry leaders, offering a distinctive blend of academic rigour and real-world organisational use of AI and decision-making insight. Their perspectives encourage students to think boldly, make informed choices, and build the mindset, confidence, and curiosity needed for both today and the future. Students will learn from world-class faculty such as: 

Professor Lipika Dey is Professor of Computer Science at Ashoka University. She was earlier a Chief Scientist at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Research, where she was heading research on the theme of Economic and Financial Intelligence. Her research interests are in the areas of Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing and Data Analytics, and has a keen interest in the fields of healthcare and sustainability analytics. Professor Dey has also been a member of the faculty at the Department of Mathematics, IIT Delhi and has a PhD in Computer Science from IIT Kharagpur. She is also an active member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society. 

Dr Anirban Sen is Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Ashoka University. Prior to joining Ashoka, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Microsoft Research India where he was a member of the Technology for Emerging Markets (TEM) team. He received his PhD in Computer Science from IIT Delhi. Dr Sen, also has industry experience in the field of Data Science where he has worked extensively towards developing solutions in the banking, finance, and insurance domains, leveraging Generative AI.

What You Will Explore

Rather than treating artificial intelligence solely as a subfield of computer science, the YSP Kolkata Learning Sprint approaches it as a foundational instrument whose applications permeate and reshape diverse domains of knowledge. The programme delves into key areas of:

• AI and Machine Learning Logics: Understanding Artificial Intelligence as a probabilistic pattern-recognition system, as opposed to a sentient or self-aware entity.
• Multimodality: How text, images, and structured data shape modern AI capabilities.
• Problem Formulation: The art of translating real-world issues into AI-ready questions.
• Model Limitations: Identifying when AI gets it wrong by understanding AI hallucinations, bias, and overconfidence.
• Responsible AI: Exploring the ethical considerations, transparency, and wider societal impact of AI, including its role in the context of open-access digital infrastructure.
• Applied Analysis: Using AI for decision-support, forecasting, and pattern discovery across diverse sectors.

Built on a dynamic learning model, the programme progresses across three core stages:

• Understanding AI Predictions and Limitations: Understand how AI systems generate predictions and classifications, while critically evaluating their reliability, uncertainty, and inherent limitations.

• Working with Data and Its Implications: Work with diverse datasets while assessing the ethical and societal implications of deploying AI across different contexts.
• Analysing and Presenting Insights: Students will present their insights alongside a critical assessment of their AI model behaviour, strengths, and limitations.

From Algorithms to Insight: Navigating the AI Frontier

What does it actually mean for a system to be “intelligent”? Is recognising patterns enough to count as intelligence? Is AI “thinking,” or simply predicting what comes next? When should we trust an AI system—and when shouldn’t we? How can hidden biases enter automated decisions? If machines can generate answers instantly, what does thinking begin to look like for the human mind? 

The programme is designed to move beyond popular perceptions of AI as a tool for instantly producing essays or images. At the YSP Kolkata Learning Sprint, students will get the chance to explore and discover answers to some of these questions and get to define their  own eureka moments. It cuts through the noise that currently surrounds AI and gives students the intellectual and creative skills to really learn what AI can and cannot do and grasp how data drives the responses it produces.

Combining a rigorous learning experience that includes immersive hands-on workshops, the programme brings together the following:

• Innovative Pedagogy: Students engage in hands-on dataset exploration, hypothesis-building exercises, and collaborative workshops that guide them through the process of asking the right question to testing it against evidence.
• Real-World Application: Learn how AI and data-driven analysis are transforming fields such as climate science, epidemiology, environmental research, and mass media while understanding how scientists use AI as a thinking partner to analyse complex systems.

Hands-on Projects at YSP Kolkata Learning Sprint

The heart of the programme is a deep dive into real-world datasets. Students do not just learn about AI; they work with it. Each day of the programme includes a hands-on workshop where students work in teams to explore scientific questions using real-world data. 

• Explore curated datasets from the fields of climate science, public health, mass media, or visual media students 
• Frame a problem that students will work on in teams 
• Iterate on the problem formulation 
• Interpret and refine the process to evaluate outputs critically to understand the ethical stakes in AI including hallucinations, bias, and overconfident results firsthand. 
• Present the findings to an expert panel, and defend the analytical process, the failures encountered, the conclusions, and what AI does and does not genuinely understand

These hands-on projects help students experience what it actually means to use AI as a thinking partner and to understand what genuine understanding looks like in contrast to pattern-matched output.

Career Pathways

The 21st century is witnessing careers emerging at the intersection of multiple disciplines including data science, technology, climate science, and social sciences. YSP Kolkata Learning Sprint will prepare students for this dynamic future.

• Data Scientist or AI Researcher: Build and refine the foundational models of tomorrow, using vast amounts of data to predict outcomes, automate complex tasks, and solve intricate problems across industries
• Computational Epidemiologist: Work at the critical intersection of public health and data science. Use AI and machine learning to track disease spread, analyse public health interventions, and predict future global health crises
• Climate Data Analyst or Environmental Scientist: Tackle one of the world’s most pressing challenges by using large-scale data models to map carbon emission patterns, track environmental pollution, and develop actionable sustainability strategies
• AI Policy Advisor or Tech Ethicist: As AI integrates deeper into society, there is a growing need for experts who understand both the technical capabilities and the ethical limitations of AI to draft policies that ensure technology is used responsibly
• Scientific Communicator: Bridge the gap between complex computational data and the general public, using the synthesis and presentation skills honed in this programme to translate deep science into coherent, compelling narratives
• Product Management & Entrepreneurship: Lead teams that integrate AI into innovative solutions.

Application Deadline: May 17, 2026
Limited Seats. Apply Now to Secure Your Seat! 

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Learning Outcomes

KNOWLEDGE

• Probabilistic Logic: Develop the ability to comprehend Artificial Intelligence as a pattern-recognition system rather than a thinking entity.
• Data Dynamics: Comprehend how different data forms (text, images, structured data) shape capabilities and limitations of AI systems
• System Failure Modes: Gain a grounded view of why hallucinations, bias, and overconfidence occur.
• Interdisciplinary Roots: Explore the interdisciplinary roots of AI and understand how it draws from multiple fields and schools of thought

SKILLS

• Data Translation & Problem Formulation: Gain the ability to turn real-world problems into structured, data-driven questions.
• Practical AI Fluency: Develop hands-on experience iterating on prompts and inputs to refine system outputs.
• Analytical Communication: Present and defend analytical choices to peers and experts.
• Tool Selection: Exercise the judgment to know when AI adds value and when human reasoning is superior.

ATTITUDE

• Critical Orientation: Learn to treat AI results as objects of evaluation rather than unquestioned authority.
• Intellectual Responsibility: Cultivate a commitment to using AI as a tool to augment, not replace, independent thinking.
• Future Readiness: Engage with the broader societal, ethical, and professional landscape of AI
• Responsible AI Use: Learn core ethical principles like fairness, accountability, and transparency.

APPLICATIONS

• Multidisciplinary Inquiry: Using AI to analyse patterns in climate science, public health, or markets.
• Decision-Support: Learn to utilise AI for forecasting in organisational settings while managing risk.
• Media Integrity: Gain the ability to analyse AI-generated content and its implications for trust and information.
• Adaptability: Build the capacity to adapt analytical strategies in response to new evidence, revised understanding, or changing conditions in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

Sample Schedule

The YSP Kolkata Learning Sprint includes masterclasses and faculty sessions, workshops, industry speaker sessions, and team demo days. Masterclasses in the programme introduce students to the foundational principles of how Artificial Intelligence systems are built and used, to analyse and predict data. These sessions are complemented by immersive, hands-on workshops that develop practical analytical fluency alongside critical evaluative judgment.

Participants begin by examining what AI systems can actually do and develop the vocabulary and conceptual tools to engage with them rigorously. They then work through problem formulation, data representation, and input design before applying AI systems to real-world analytical tasks. The programme culminates in team presentations to experts and peers, where students present their problem, analytical process, failures encountered, and conclusions — defending their reasoning and reflecting on what AI does and does not understand.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE

Faculty

Lipika Dey

Professor of Computer Science, Ashoka University

Ph.D. IIT Kharagpur

Anirban Sen

Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Ashoka University

Ph.D. IIT Delhi

Industry Speaker

FAQs

1. Do I need to have a background in Science, coding or data to attend this programme?

No, prior knowledge of science, coding or data is not required. The programme is designed to be interdisciplinary, welcoming students from Science, Humanities, and Commerce streams. We start with the fundamental logic of AI as a thinking partner and an instrument of scientific discovery, ensuring that every student—regardless of their school subjects—can master the skills to start their journey to find answers to some of the most enduring questions in science, society and business.

2. What will I do in the programme?

Students will produce a complete and comprehensive AI investigation including a problem statement, an invoked or trained model with documented outputs, an interpretation document analysing results and failure modes and a final demo presentation defended before a panel.

3. What would the datasets for the workshops contain?

The core of the experience revolves around choosing a dataset that genuinely captures learners’ intellectual curiosity. We will offer a diverse array of fields crucial to contemporary global challenges and discovery, for example:

• Mass Media: Social media trends, large scale web data, misinformation and fake news data
• Visual Media: User behaviour on social media, poster images, digital media images, or popular AI generated images
• Financial Markets: NSE or BSE stock sector data, or UPI and digital payments aggregates  
• Environmental Pollution: Mapping air or water quality indices, tracking pollutant sources, or assessing environmental impact.
• Climate Science: Investigating global temperature trends, extreme weather event frequency, or carbon emission patterns.
• Epidemiology and Public Health: Analysing disease spread, vaccination rates, or the impact of public health interventions.

4. Does this programme focus on teaching prompt engineering for popular AI tools? 

While students will certainly use AI, the goal is to move beyond simple prompt engineering. The specific AI interfaces one uses today might not exist tomorrow, so instead of memorising prompt formats, students will learn how to treat AI as a thinking partner. A major focus of the programme is to develop the critical thinking skills to understand the data driving AI responses and building the judgment to recognise when an AI model is hallucinating  vs when it is producing credible verifiable responses

5. How is this programme different from what I learn about AI in school?

The YSP Kolkata Learning Sprint 2026, builds a rigorous and critical understanding of how AI systems are architecturally built, why they make mistakes, what their results mean and don’t mean, and what ethical responsibilities come with using and deploying them. It is designed to develop the kind of thinking that prepares students for university-level study and critical engagement with AI across any field.