AI & Education
Supporting thoughtful work on how AI is changing learning, teaching, knowledge creation, and educational institutions.
DIRECTOR · PENTA MINDS
Priyadharshini K K
Director
Leadership across Penta Minds’ initiative areas.
A public-facing leadership identity for institutional collaboration, academic initiatives, and ecosystem development.
Leadership Focus
My focus is on broad leadership oversight across Penta Minds’ initiative areas. This remit connects how people learn with AI, how institutions govern it, how responsible practice is sustained, and how the systems and infrastructure behind AI are understood and developed.
Mission
Vision
Research Projects
Active initiatives and research contributions
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 ccollection through field visits and onsolidation, thematic analysis, policy brief drafting, and AI Literacy Toolkit finalisation by December 2026.
Research Interests
Penta Minds Ecosystem
Penta Minds is a research institution and collective, not a personal brand. Its active research lines create evidence and knowledge, while its team and partners enable execution and collaboration. As Director, Priyadharshini provides institutional leadership oversight across AI & Education, AI Governance, Ethical & Responsible AI, and AI Systems & Infrastructure.
Penta Minds