AI clubs open in schools and colleges of Tatarstan
September 1 marks the start of the new academic year in Russia. For Tatarstan, this Day of Knowledge is especially significant: AI clubs have been launched in 100 schools and 35 colleges across the republic, where schoolchildren and college students will learn to work with artificial intelligence. The clubs were established under the regional AI development programme, which embeds systematic specialist training starting from the school level.
Artificial intelligence is no longer a technology of the future; today it is actively used in various areas of life. For Tatarstan, it is important to teach children not just to use neural networks, but to create their own projects and manage AI agents. The training is structured across different educational levels. Students in grades 5–6 will master basic AI skills (prompt formulation, text and image generation), and by grade 7, they will move on to designing their own digital agents. College students, in turn, will tackle real-world tasks and case studies from Tatarstan companies.
To launch the AI clubs, more than 700 educators underwent large-scale professional development training over the summer. During hands-on sessions, teachers designed AI agents that will free them from routine tasks. As a result of the selection process, 239 schoolteachers and 100 college instructors were qualified to lead the clubs, and all will receive a one-time payment.
Tatarstan has also launched the "Algarysh in the field of Artificial Intelligence" program for master's students. As many as 14 Tatarstan students have already begun their studies at leading universities in China and Singapore. Upon completion, these AI specialists will return to Tatarstan to work for at least three years at key enterprises in the republic.
"This systematic approach will enable Tatarstan to grow strong technology talent at all levels of education. By 2030, 90,000 of our schoolchildren and college students will have undergone AI technology training. Under the regional programme, we are building an ecosystem for everyone to benefit from AI capabilities: teachers, doctors, entrepreneurs and government agencies. We are currently integrating the GosPrompt AI service into every sector, tailored to their specific needs. The platform will become a reliable assistant across the board — from creating test assignments for school lessons to analyzing X-ray images and reviewing cost estimates," Tatarstan Minister of Digitalization Ilya Nachvin said.
September 1 also marks the first day of classes for students in the new specialty at the International Competence Centre — Kazan College of Information Technologies and Communications (MCC-KCITC). Future specialists will learn to integrate artificial intelligence, machine learning and computer vision into real business processes.