BENGALURU: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had earlier announced the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as an elective for students in classes 9 to 12. The curriculum for the subject is now being developed from scratch by a team from IBM India along with members of its global team and other subject experts.To begin with, IBM will conduct a pilot project in 1,000 schools in Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad and Chennai, before finalising the curriculum and embedding it in the CBSE curriculum from the next academic year. The pilot is being launched in Delhi on Wednesday.The project will start with creating awareness for school principals, followed by a two-and-a half day training of teachers on the foundational skills for the subject. Students will undergo a five-stage training which includes research-informed readings, customised online resources and hands-on projects. The curriculum includes orientation on AI, ideation and innovation workshops on selected areas for AI deployment, and students making a minimum viable prototype.The curriculum also includes Capstone Project, where students will be mentored by IBM experts for advanced prototype development and on-ground implementation of projects to make the foundation stronger. The course will provide a platform for top 40 students from these 1,000 schools, who will be selected for Capstone Project, to showcase at appropriate forums like hackathons or international conferences. Apart from teaching knowledge and skills on AI, the programme has a chapter on ethics including issues of security, privacy and transparency. The programme requires 36 hours of school time for completion."Unlike creating a curriculum for professionals, introducing the subject to schoolchildren is different. We have a chance to create a course to give the best effect by using a design-based approach to problem-solving with AI. The programme intends to develop a professional learning community for teachers in partnership with the industry. We will ensure it provides collaborative global project opportunities for students and recognise learning achievements through badging and accreditation," Gaurav Sharma, vice-president, India Software labs, IBM, said.CBSE's idea of introducing AI in the curriculum came from Niti Ayog, the government's think-tank.