Reliance, Jio Institute Push AI EdTech Beyond Pilots to System-Wide Adoption
Overview
Reliance Foundation and Jio Institute hosted a dialogue on AI in education, calling for a fundamental shift beyond pilot programs to system-wide adoption. The event, a precursor to the India AI Impact Summit 2026, gathered 50+ experts to discuss challenges in integrating AI, focusing on learning outcomes, equity, and aligning with national education systems. Philanthropy's role in de-risking early innovations was also highlighted.
Stocks Mentioned
AI EdTech's Systemic Adoption Challenge
Reliance Foundation, in partnership with Central Square Foundation, convened a high-level dialogue at Jio Institute in Navi Mumbai. The event served as an official pre-summit gathering for the India AI Impact Summit 2026, focusing on Artificial Intelligence in education.
Over 50 participants from philanthropy, EdTech firms, academia, and the private sector explored how AI-enabled education tools can transition from pilot phases to delivering measurable learning outcomes at scale. A core challenge identified was ensuring AI strengthens entire education systems rather than remaining as fragmented, standalone interventions.
Focus on Learning Outcomes and Equity
Discussions highlighted AI's potential in personalized instruction, teacher support, and assessments. However, participants stressed that technology alone does not guarantee improved learning. Emphasis was placed on aligning AI solutions with learning science, ensuring equity and inclusion, and evaluating success based on actual learning outcomes, not just reach.
Dr. Shailesh Kumar, Chief Data Scientist at Jio and Dean of Jio Institute, addressed the need to redesign education systems for a digital-first world. He advocated for moving away from uniform teaching models towards personalized, student-centric approaches that foster mastery learning and critical thinking through AI.
Philanthropy and Systemic Integration
The role of philanthropy in enabling responsible AI adoption was a recurring theme. Capital from philanthropic organizations can help de-risk early innovations, support long-term evidence generation, and build organizational capacity. Insights from initiatives like the LiftEd EdTech Accelerator, which reached over three million children, demonstrated how sustained support aids AI integration and evidence gathering.
Scaling AI-enabled learning solutions requires system-level alignment. Participants pointed to the need for integration with government curricula, development of multilingual content, provision for low-bandwidth access and shared device use, and overall institutional readiness within public education systems. Recommendations from the dialogue are expected to inform national and global policy discussions.
