India School AI Challenge 2026: Registration, Prizes and Project Guide
ISAC 2026 invites Grades 6–12 students to learn AI, build original projects and compete in ET Education’s North India challenge for ₹25 lakh in prizes.
The India School AI Challenge (ISAC) 2026 is an AI learning and innovation programme for school students in Grades 6–12, organised through ET Education. Its founding North India edition combines guided AI learning, project building, evaluation and an offline Grand Finale. The official challenge page currently lists a ₹25 lakh prize pool and a registration fee of ₹999, discounted from ₹1,999.
ISAC is more than a one-day quiz. A student begins by registering and completing an AI readiness step, then moves through live masterclasses, project development, submission, shortlisting and the finale. That structure makes the challenge useful for students who want to learn AI by creating something rather than only answering theory questions.
Who can participate?
The official page says the challenge is for students in Grades 6–12 and identifies this founding edition as a North India initiative. The listed regions are Delhi/NCR, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.
Students do not need advanced coding experience to begin. ISAC is designed as a learning journey, and the organiser highlights AI readiness, masterclasses and project guidance as part of the registration package. Participation is intended for individual students, with the work expected to reflect the participant’s own thinking and effort.
The current challenge timeline
| Stage | Current schedule |
|---|---|
| Registration and AI Readiness | 10 August–31 October 2026 |
| Learn AI | 1–20 November 2026 |
| Build Project | 21 November–20 December 2026 |
| Submit Project | 21–25 December 2026 |
| AI Shortlisting | 26 December 2026–1 January 2027 |
| Finalists Announced | 2 January 2027 |
| Finale Preparation | 3–7 January 2027 |
| Grand Finale | 9 January 2027 |
The organiser page also contains some older milestone text further down the page, so students should rely on the current prominent eight-stage journey and recheck the live page before acting on a deadline. ET Education notes that programme details and rewards can be changed.
What does the ₹999 fee include?
The current registration section says the challenge pass includes an AI Readiness Score, five live AI masterclasses, learning resources, project-building guidance, project evaluation, an opportunity to qualify for the Grand Finale, access to compete for the ₹25 lakh prize pool and a participation certificate.
The learning component matters because beginners are not expected to arrive with a finished AI product. The programme is intended to help students understand AI, learn prompt engineering and problem-solving approaches, then use those skills to build an original project.
What kind of project can a student build?
The official page encourages students to solve practical problems with AI. Suggested areas include education, healthcare, environment and sustainability, smarter living and cities, agriculture, financial decision-making and accessibility.
A strong project starts with a specific problem rather than with a fashionable AI tool. For example, “AI in education” is too broad. A project that helps a particular group of students turn difficult textbook material into revision questions is easier to explain, test and improve.
What has to be submitted?
The challenge page describes a project package built around a problem statement, presentation and short video pitch. A prototype can strengthen the submission, and the organiser indicates that no-code approaches can be acceptable. That lowers the entry barrier for students who have a good idea but are still learning programming.
The key is to show that AI has a purposeful role in the solution. A presentation should explain the problem, who faces it, what the proposed solution does, where AI is used and what the student learned while building it.
How the projects are judged
The current prominent judging framework emphasises AI usage, creativity, problem solving and presentation. Students should therefore avoid treating AI as decoration. The project should demonstrate why AI is useful for the selected problem and how the solution improves on the current way of doing things.
- AI Usage: show that AI performs a meaningful part of the solution.
- Creativity: explain what is original about the idea or approach.
- Problem Solving: connect the project clearly to a real need.
- Presentation: communicate the idea and demonstration simply enough for a jury to follow.
₹25 lakh prize pool across three groups
The official page divides the prize pool across three academic categories: AI Explorer for Grades 6–8, AI Innovator for Grades 9–10 and AI Leader for Grades 11–12. The displayed category totals are ₹7 lakh, ₹8 lakh and ₹10 lakh respectively.
For AI Explorer, the winner is listed for ₹1 lakh plus a tablet. For AI Innovator, the winner is listed for ₹1.5 lakh plus a laptop. For AI Leader, the winner is listed for ₹2 lakh plus a premium laptop. Runner-up and finalist rewards are also listed for each category on the live page.
These rewards are subject to terms and conditions and may change. Families should therefore verify the current official India School AI Challenge page before treating any reward as final.
A practical strategy for a first-time participant
- Choose a problem you can observe or explain clearly.
- Research how that problem is currently solved.
- Define one small outcome your project can improve.
- Use the masterclasses to identify suitable AI tools.
- Build the simplest workable demonstration.
- Test it using realistic examples and note limitations.
- Make the presentation show the journey, not only the final screen.
For the video pitch, clarity matters more than dramatic editing. Introduce the problem quickly, demonstrate the solution, explain where AI is used and finish with the intended impact. If a feature is still experimental, say so rather than presenting it as fully validated.
What parents should consider
The challenge involves a multi-month journey rather than a single exam day. Students need time for live sessions, project development, presentation preparation and submission. Parents can help with scheduling, internet access and file organisation, while keeping the project itself student-led.
It is also worth looking beyond the cash prize. A student who completes the learning journey will have experience framing a problem, using AI tools, building a project and presenting it. For a beginner, that can be a valuable outcome even without reaching the final round.
Before registering
Confirm the student’s grade and region, review the current schedule and make sure the student can stay engaged through the project-submission period. The official page currently shows ₹999 as the registration fee and lists limited seats.
Because the organiser can revise dates, format or rewards, use the live ET Education challenge page as the final reference instead of relying on an old screenshot or forwarded message. The most useful way to approach ISAC is to treat it as a structured learning-and-building opportunity first and a prize competition second.
