IIIT-H launches Centre for Educational Technology and Learning Sciences to study learning in the AI era

Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H) has established the Centre for Educational Technology and Learning Sciences (CETLS). The centre's stated aim is to study how people learn in an environment where generative AI and other machine intelligence are widely available, and to create practical tools and methods that improve cognitive skills across age groups.

CETLS will target four learner groups: students up to Class 12, higher-education students, executives seeking training, and older adults (referred to as learning for the third age). The centre intends to be interdisciplinary, bringing together specialists in psychology, cognitive science, learning sciences and technology.

IIIT-H leaders say the emergence of generative AI changes how learners access information. Today's young people ask AI for direct answers rather than searching documents, creating a difference between "digital natives" and "AI natives." IIIT-H faculty want to understand whether reliance on AI risks stagnating or reducing human cognitive abilities, and whether machine intelligence can be used to help human intelligence develop further.

CETLS plans to avoid blanket bans on AI in classrooms. Instead, the centre will partner with schools to observe actual learning processes and then translate those observations into improved teaching methods and tools. The goal is to design compassionate, intuitive interventions that allow learners to work naturally with AI while strengthening understanding and problem-solving skills.

IIIT-H faculty highlight two immediate challenges. First, the relevance of knowledge taught in classrooms is less certain when generative AI makes factual information instantly accessible. Second, conventional assessments such as homework become unreliable signals of a student's understanding when AI can generate correct responses on demand. These concerns are motivating the centre's research into new assessment models and curriculum design.

Vasudeva Varma will head CETLS. Raj Reddy, the institute's founder and a globally known AI thinker, is scheduled to address the centre's inaugural event. Sandeep Shukla, Director of IIIT-H, has articulated the institute's concern about teaching relevance and assessment integrity in an AI-rich learning environment.

CETLS will conduct field work with schools and develop interdisciplinary research projects that map how learners use AI, how that use affects cognitive development, and what instructional or technological changes can mitigate harms and amplify benefits. Outputs could include new classroom practices, alternative assessment formats, and learning tools that scaffold cognitive skills while leveraging AI capabilities.

Why this matters to educators and policymakers

Educators face a practical choice: prohibit AI and risk irrelevance, or incorporate AI while protecting and developing human cognitive skills. CETLS aims to generate evidence and tested approaches that help educators make that choice with concrete options grounded in classroom observation and cross-disciplinary research.