Conclave on Strengthening Human Capital for the AI Era

Empowering Users with AI Awareness and AI Skills

In-Person Event

Friday, December 19, 2025

09:00 AM to 04:00 PM

Hall II, IC & SR, IIT Madras, Chennai

Event Overview

As Artificial Intelligence reshapes governance, education, and industry, human capital development has become the core of India’s AI strategy. The Conclave on Strengthening Human Capital for the AI Era serves as a strategic pre-summit event to the India AI Impact Summit.

This conclave brings together researchers, government officials, academia, industry leaders, and civil society to deliberate on strengthening India’s AI-ready workforce. Our goal is to embed AI literacy across governance and education ecosystems, ensuring that individuals interacting with AI understand its purpose, limitations, and risks.

The Focus

To address the rapid evolution of AI, we are focusing on two interconnected pillars:

Responsible Use of AI in Education

RAI for Education

Enhancing teaching and learning through safe, responsible, and ethical AI.

This track focuses on how AI can support personalized learning, improved pedagogy, and administrative decision-making while ensuring equitable implementation.

Context

IIT Madras, in collaboration with the Central Square Foundation and Google, is co-leading a national AI literacy initiative.

Goal

To highlight how AI can be inclusive and impactful, aligning with IIT Madras's role as a UN Centre of Excellence for Digital and Emerging Technologies.

Building AI Leadership in the Public Sector

AI Education

Equipping public sector officials and educators with the skills to govern AI across its lifecycle.

This track addresses the urgent need to build capacity within the government to critically engage with and govern AI technologies.

Context

Based on the MeitY report Empowering Public Sector Leadership, this track emphasizes a practical, hands-on approach.

Goal

To co-develop training programs for government officials to design and deploy AI tools effectively under the guidance of domain experts.

Objectives

Derive Policy Recommendations

Create guidelines for deploying AI responsibly in classrooms and the public sector, prioritizing privacy, bias mitigation, and safety.

Assess Capacity-Building Needs

Identify the specific knowledge and competencies required for students, teachers, and Indian government officials.

Co-Develop Training Programs

Structure a curriculum for government officials, including modules on AI solutions, governance, and skilling, to be implemented by DFL and CeRAI.

Agenda

Morning Session 09:00 AM - 01:45 PM

Theme 1: Responsible Use of AI in Education (Hall 2, IC&SR)

09:00 AM - 09:30 AM

Registration & Coffee / Tea

09:30 AM - 09:40 AM

Inauguration and Opening Remarks

Venue: Hall 2, IC&SR

Ashwin Mahalingam, Professor & Dean (Alumni and Corporate Relations), IIT Madras
Balaraman Ravindran, Professor & Head, WSAI, IIT Madras

09:40 AM - 10:00 AM

Key Announcements & Mentions

Venue: Hall 2, IC&SR

10:00 AM - 10:20 AM

Keynote Session

Venue: Hall 2, IC&SR

Timothy Persons, Principal and AI Leader, PwC
Bhushan Sethi, Partner, PwC

10:20 AM - 11:25 AM

Panel Discussion

Public-Private-Academia Partnerships for Developing and Deploying AI in the Education Sector: Opportunities and Challenges

Panelists:
Sanjeev Kumar, Adjunct Professor, IIT Jammu
Bhanu Potta, Consulting Senior Partner - Edtech & AI, Central Square Foundation
Nagarajan P, Mentor, Vidya Sakthi
Dr Makarand, Principal ML Scientist, Wadhwani AI

Moderator:
Nirav Bhatt, Associate Professor, IIT Madras

11:25 AM - 11:40 AM

Tea/Coffee Break

11:40 AM - 12:45 PM

Panel Discussion

Enabling & Scaling Personalised Learning through AI-powered Platforms in Public Education Institutes

Panelists:
Sanjay Jain, Head, Google for Education for India
Neethi S, Professor of Practice, WSAI, IIT Madras
Ramkumar Rajendran, Associate Professor, IIT Bombay
Chitra Ravi, CEO, Chrysailes

Moderator: Kartic Vaidyanathan, Adjunct Faculty, IIT Madras

12:45 PM - 01:45 PM

Networking Lunch Break

Afternoon Session 01:45 PM - 04:00 PM

Theme 2: Human Capital - Building AI Leadership in the Public Sector (Hall 3, IC&SR)

01:45 PM - 02:50 PM

Fireside Chat

Vidhya Srinivasan, VP/GM, Ads & Commerce, Google
Balaraman Ravindran, Professor & Head, WSAI, IITM

Moderator: Urvashi Aneja, Founder & Director, Digital Futures Lab

02:55 PM - 03:10 PM

Keynote Session

Sriraam Natarajan, Professor, University of Texas, Dallas

03:10 PM - 03:30 PM

Keynote Session

Karthik Suri, General Manager - Future Skills, IndiaAI, MeitY

03:30 PM - 03:45 PM

Closing Remarks and Felicitation

Karthik Raman, Professor, IIT Madras

03:45 PM - 04:00 PM

Tea/Coffee

Closed-Door Session 04:15 PM - 06:45 PM

04:15 PM - 06:45 PM

Closed-door Roundtable Discussion (Invite Only)

Strengthening AI Skills and Capabilities of Indian Government Officers

Outcomes

By the end of this conclave, we aim to achieve:

Knowledge Sharing Understanding challenges faced by government officials, schools, and NGOs.

Collaboration Opportunities Strategies to deploy responsible AI in the Global South.

Actionable Strategies Workable methods to make a positive impact using AI.

Curriculum Framework An updated framework for capacity-building programs based on roundtable insights.

Join Us in Shaping the Future

Be part of the conversation on strengthening human capital for the AI era

Venue & Directions

Address

ICSR,
Near, Gajendra Circle,
Opposite to Admin Building,
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Chennai-600036, India

Phone

+91-44-22578980

contact@cerai.in

Organized by

Centre for Responsible AI (CeRAI), IIT Madras Digital Futures Lab (DFL)