Global Developer Corps (GDC) Artificial Intelligence Workforce
Scheme Document 2024-2029
1. Foreword
AICTE, along with Pupilfirst played a pioneering role in creating the United Nations
recognized Digital Public Good “CARE” by initiating the Global Developer Corps (GDC)
programme to identify and train the brightest engineering students. AICTE GDC fellows
from the batch 2021 created the Oxygen Dashboards for COVID-19 War Rooms during
the delta wave crisis of May 2021. The batch 2022 expanded the capabilities to create
the TeleICU systems now deployed in 206 district hospitals across nine states.
With the advent of ChatGPT, a new technological era in artificial intelligence (AI) has
started. The batch 2023 GDC Fellows worked with Open AI and industry partners to
upgrade CARE with AI features that will transform the delivery of healthcare services to
citizens. The United Nations has recognised the work done by GDC Fellows as the
world's 50th Digital Public Good (DPG).
The National Health Mission has requested to scale up the fellowships to support the
rollout of CARE as a Palliative Care Grid, showing the large-scale demand for students
with AI skill sets. The success of the GDC Fellowships has opened up the potential to
scale this model into a GDC AI Workforce scheme for creating an AI workforce of 100,000
highly skilled engineers over five years, who can work as nation builders and bring the
transformative effects of the AI revolution in society.
2. Scheme Objectives:
The GDC AI Workforce Scheme has two objectives set for achievement over 5 years:
● Create a workforce of One Lakh skilled in working with AI to create and upgrade
Digital Public Infrastructure and Goods.
● Build capabilities to transform aspects of the teaching-learning process with
Artificial Intelligence to enable scale and relevance to the future.
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2.1 Eligibility
All Students of AICTE-approved institutions in Engineering and Technology and this
scheme is totally free of cost.
2.2 Pedagogy and Assessments
Content based on AICTE’s model curriculum following NEP Learner-centered
pedagogy, with self-paced learning via video tutorials, real-world applications as
capstone projects, and continuous and personalized assessments.
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2.3 Internships
After completing the course, students shall be provided with opportunities to work at
organizations like the e-Governance Foundation, National Health Mission, and other
identified partners for at least one semester as full-time interns on remote/physical
mode.
2.4 Certificates
Students who complete the training and internship programme will receive a GDC AI
Workforce Fellow Certificate. {Draft Format in Annexure - 1}
2.5 Credits
Pupilfirst will pursue to issue credits for courses and internships based on the National
Credit Framework (NCrF) from the onboarded partner institution(s)/Universities.
3. Fellowship Selection and Training process
A four-stage process covers the various stages, from Applications to AI Grading, Testing
and Screening, Selection and Internships with Industry.
Stage 1 – Submission of Application
All students interested in participating shall apply through the online portal set up by
Pupilfirst.
Stage 2 - AI Grading and Personal Interview
AI-based tests built on GPT 4 would create personalized questions based on the
student's resume and cover foundational programming questions and logical
reasoning. All students who score above a defined threshold will be selected for
interviews to secure admission into the Fellowship Track.
Stage 3: Selection into Fellowship Track
Students who pass the AI test and interviews will be selected for the Fellowship Track.
Those students who complete both the curriculum training and finish the six-month
internships will qualify for the GDC AI Workforce Fellow Certificate.
The fellowship track shall admit highly motivated students and must be completed
within 14 weeks.
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Stage 4: Internships
The brightest students from the fellowship track will be offered a six-month digital
internship with GDC partner organizations, such as the eGovernance Foundation or the
National Health Mission, to build and upgrade Digital Public Infrastructure and Goods
with AI Features.
4. Roles and Responsibilities
4.1 AICTE
Issuance of circulars and notifications as and when deemed to be to sensitise the
stakeholders regarding the GDC scheme and calendar of events.
4.2 PupilFirst
Maintenance of portal pertaining to student registration, conduct of tests and
interviews, monitoring of student learning and its assessment, and coordination with
external organizations for internships.
5. Administrative Guidelines
5.1. Mission Mode Implementation
NEP 2020 outlines the need to identify disruptive technologies that could
change the education paradigm. As artificial intelligence is experiencing
explosive growth, AICTE shall encourage the GDC scheme.
a. Students from All Branches: Students from all branches of study across all
tiers are eligible to apply.
b. Integration with Swayam: Pupilfirst shall work with AICTE Swayam team to
integrate basic and introductory courses with the Swayam platform.
c. Mission Dashboard: Pupilfirst shall provide AICTE with a mission dashboard
with the details of all applicants and their progress status across states and
institutions.
d. Increasing Industry Partners: AICTE and Pupilfirst shall work together to
increase the number of organisations growing internships.
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5.2 GDC Industry Advisory Board
An eight-member interdisciplinary team comprising leaders with experience in
building and scaling Digital Public Goods and Infrastructure shall work together
under the leadership of the Chairman, AICTE, in the following roles.
Sl Name, Organization and Credential Role
1 Prof. T. G. Sitharam Setting Goals and
Chairman, AICTE Targets.
2 Srikanth Nadhamuni, eGoverance Foundation Chief Technology
Founding CTO of Aadhaar Mentor,
GDC AI Workforce
3 Pramod Varma, EkStep Foundation Chief DPI Mentor,
Chief Architect, Aadhaar and India Stack DPI GDC AI Workforce
4 Sridhar Vembu, ZOHO Corporation Chief Security Mentor,
Member, National Security Advisory Group GDC AI Workforce
5 Sandeep Singhal, Venture Philanthropist Chief Philanthropy
Board Member, ACT Grants Mentor
GDC AI Workforce
6 Narayan Ramaswamy, SGM ADNOC and Chief Industry Connect
Director General, Bharat Tech Foundation GDC AI Workforce
7 Dr Leena Chandran-Wadia, TransDisciplinary Chief Researcher
University GDC AI Workforce
Member, Drafting Committee of National Educational
Policy
8 Sanjay Vijayakumar, Lead on-ground
Co-founder Pupilfirst execution
*New members may be added as required by the competent authority.
6. Span of Activity and Key Outcomes Expected
Span of Activity:
The scheme would be implemented over five years from 2024-2029
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Key Outcomes Expected
1. Create AI Workforce of One Lakh Students trained in full stack development and AI
skillset
2. Showcase NEP’s core principles of learner-centred pedagogy and continuous and
personalised assessments by using AI and utilizing platforms such as
ABC/APAR/NDEAR.
3. Make a Societal impact by enabling the National Health Mission and other partners
to deploy the United Nations-approved Digital Public Good, “CARE,” across all 35
States and UTs.
4. Elevate India’s software power by taking DPGs globally to partner countries.
Note: The scheme shall be run on mission mode with online reviews during the first
week of each month by the Competent Authority and GDC Industry Advisory Group to
ensure that the roadmap for execution is aligned with the NEP and Industry
Developments in AI.
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Annexure 1 - Sample of GDC AI Workforce Fellow Certificate
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Annexure 2 – Curriculum
Detailed Syllabus
Course Code : AI-powered Web Development 101
Course Title : Getting Started with JavaScript
Number of Credits & Hours : 1 (L: 0; T: 1; P: 0) - 15 Hours
Course Category : Web Development (WD)
Course Objective:
This course is meant for students who have no prior programming experience or a light
background and are looking to build a robust foundation for computational thinking and
the use of AI.
They'll learn to deconstruct what software applications do, and reason about the essence
ofcomputation as the transformation of data from one shape to another.
Practically, they will be able to set up a development environment, be introduced to HTML
& CSS, and learn to program in a functional subset of JavaScript. Additionally, they will gain
an understanding of the basics of Artificial Intelligence and how AI-powered tools can
assist in web development.
By the end of the course, they will build an Online Registration form that runs on the
browser, with the ability to store and retrieve submissions using browser native web
storage. They will also be able to create and deploy a simple and basic website to the
internet. Furthermore, students will integrate AI tools into their projects, enhancing their
coding efficiency and productivity.
Prerequisites:
- Students should have access to a computer with a modern OS (Windows 11 or
above, Ubuntu 22.04 and above, macOS 10.15 and above).
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- Students should have computer literacy. It includes skills like the ability to browse
the internet and find information, ability to use software applications like word
processors and spreadsheets, and be comfortable with user-level operating
system concepts like CPU, memory, disks, and files and folders.
Course Contents:
Module 1: Welcome to AI-powered web-development!
In this module, students are guided through setting up a development environment on
theircomputer. They will set up Visual Studio Code as their editor and learn to use Prettier
and ESLint extensions for code formatting and code quality, respectively. Additionally,
students will install and configure GitHub Copilot to introduce AI-powered coding
assistance right from the start.
Module 2: Creating our own websites
In this module, students are introduced to the World Wide Web. They learn how to develop
a simple website using HTML. They experiment with some useful HTML tags, learn how to
look inside websites. The students deploy the website they develop and share it over the
Internet.
Module 3: Basic Introduction to HTML and CSS
This module gives some basic introduction of HTML and CSS. Students learn how to put
together a web page that contains HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Module 4: Style Matters
This module teaches students how to style web pages using CSS. Students also learn how
touse Tailwind CSS to add custom styling to their webpages.
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Module 5: Working with JavaScript data types
In this module students are introduced to different data types - Number, Boolean and
String. They carry out various operations on these data types to understand the difference
between them, and also can decide the suitability of a data type given a task or operation.
Module 6 - Working with JavaScript data structures
This module teaches students how to iterate with arrays using forEach method and
generate an HTML list from an array. Students perform various transformations on an
arrayusing the map method and are introduced to filtering of arrays.
Students are also introduced to objects in JavaScript. They learn how to create objects, add
and access properties of objects and perform various operations on them.
Module 7 - Functions - code we can call multiple times
This module teaches students how to use functions to modularize the codebase. Students
learn how to return values from a function and also how to treat functions as values, by
passing them as arguments.
Module 8 - Create a form with validations
In this module, students learn about HTML form element and form data. They learn how
to create a user form, add validations, store and retrieve data.
Students develop and deploy their personal website that includes the form they have built
with additional validations and display the data submitted by users on the website.
Module 9: Introduction to AI for Web Developers
In this module, students delve deeper into the basics of Artificial Intelligence and its
broader impact on web development beyond just coding assistance. They will explore the
integration of AI into web projects, focusing on practical applications and ethical
considerations.
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Text/Reference Books (if any):
This course does not require students to use physical textbooks. Instead, original course
material (videos, text and images) has been prepared for students to go through and is
open-sourced under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
©Pupilfirst Pvt. Ltd. Parts of this course are sourced from an earlier version of this course
that is also licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That original work is © Freshworks Inc. &
Pupilfirst Pvt. Ltd.
This course material may include some third-party content with a compatible license, and
external links for additional reading on the Internet. Students are also taught how to
searchfor information on their own.
Course Outcomes:
By completing the WD 101 course, students will gain a foundation in programming and
computational thinking, be introduced to the field of web development, and gain a basic
understanding of Artificial Intelligence and its applications.
Specifically, they will learn how to:
● Set up a development environment.
● Create and style basic web pages.
● Transform data with JavaScript.
● Use computational abstractions.
● Work with HTML forms.
● Implement native HTML form validations.
● Understand web storage for saving and retrieving data.
● Integrate AI-powered tools like GitHub Copilot into their development workflow.
● Enhance their coding efficiency and productivity using AI suggestions.
● Recognize the ethical considerations and future trends in AI and web
development.
******
**
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Course Code : AI-powered Web Development 201
Course Title : Server-side programming with [Link]
Number of Credits & Hours : 6 (L: 0; T: 6; P: 0) | 90 Hours
Course Category : Web Development (WD)
Course Objective:
The objective of this course is to teach students how to build web applications using the
[Link] framework, with a focus on industry-practices like functional programming,
object-oriented design, programming style guides, security, and version control. They will
also explore the addition of AI-powered features into their web application.
Prerequisites:
Students should have completed Web Development 101, before beginning this course.
Students should have access to a computer with a modern OS (Windows 11 or above,
Ubuntu 22.04 and above, macOS 10.15 and above).
Overview:
Through the course, the student will work up to build a To-do Management application
using [Link], PostgreSQL, HTML, and CSS. The app will be hosted on the cloud using a
cloud deployment platform.
They will then independently work on a capstone project, which will be a microcosm of a
production web application and the challenges and trade-offs that come with it.
Being an industry-led course, the students will also be exposed to professional practices
like code reviews, code quality, and version control (git). They’ll have access to the
web
development Community on the Discord server, where they are encouraged to ask well-
crafted and specific questions, a valuable skill in a professional setting.
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Course Content:
Module 1 - Introduction to [Link]
In this module, students are introduced to [Link] - they learn how to install it and write
programs on it and use [Link] REPL. Students also start using GitHub and learn how to
collaborate on code with others using the git tool.
Module 2 - Working with NPM
This module is an introduction to [Link] package manager for students, where they
start writing custom NPM modules. They also explore and use built-in modules of
[Link]
Module 3 - [Link] deep dive
In this module, students start building their first application and learn how to use
closureto emulate private methods.
Module 4 - Testing
In this module, students are introduced to testing. They start writing tests for their
application, learn how to use Jest to run the tests and pre-commit hooks to run the
testsautomatically before each commit.
Module 5 - Databases and Sequelize
In this module, students get to learn about databases and set up a PostgreSQL database.
They learn how to connect to a database from a [Link] application and then work on
thedatabase by creating Sequelize models to manipulate data.
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Module 6 - Backend Web development with
[Link]
In this module, students develop their first application and connect it to the PostgreSQL
database on their machine, and begin learning the basics of the CRUD pattern by building
some additional features to the application that they’re working on.
Module 7 - EJS Templating
This module teaches touches upon the basics of the MVC pattern, instructing students
howto render dynamic data inside their HTML pages using EJS templates. This module
also letsthe student practice how to deploy their work to a remote server.
Module 8 - Add User Interface for To-do Application
This module teaches students how to create interfaces for their application. They
alsopractice converting a given visual design into working HTML and CSS.
Module 9 - HTML forms to save and accept user
inputs
This module teaches students how to accept user input on their application via form
element in HTML. Students also explore more of the CRUD pattern, moving onto creation
of resources using forms, deletion of existing resources, and learn about Cross Site
Request Forgery (CSRF) and how authenticity tokens can be used to prevent such attacks.
Students are also introduced to APIs.
Module 10 - User Authentication and final wrap-up
In this module, students dig deeper into Sequelize association, migration and validation.
They build a functional user sign-up page, learn about password storage and play
aroundwith browser cookies, sessions, user authentication, and related best practices.
They alsolearn to display one-off flash messages.
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Module 11: Generative AI and web development
In this module, students explore the integration of generative AI, focusing on using
ChatGPT to interpret natural language input. They will learn how to convert natural
language into structured data and implement it in a web application. Additionally, the
module will cover prompt engineering to optimize interactions with generative AI models.
Text/Reference Books (if any):
This course does not require students to use physical textbooks. Instead, original course
material (videos, text and images) has been prepared for students to go through and is
open-sourced under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
©Pupilfirst Pvt. Ltd. Parts of this course are sourced from an earlier version of this course
that is also licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and that original version of the work is ©
Freshworks Inc. & Pupilfirst Pvt. Ltd.
This course material may include some third-party content with a compatible license, and
external links for additional reading on the Internet. Students are also taught how to
searchfor information on their own.
Course Outcomes:
By the end of the course, the students will be able to:
● Build web applications using [Link].
● Manipulate data using both imperative and functional programming techniques.
● Model real-world systems using object-oriented design
● Write HTML & CSS to create elegant web pages
● Build database applications using Sequelize.
● Be able to integrate generative AI features into their project.
The students would have built fundamental first-principles based knowledge about web
development and the practical chops to use them to build real-world software. They would
also have learnt what it is to work in a professional software environment, helping build a
strong foundation for their transition to the industry as competent professionals.
******
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Course Code : AI powered Web Development 301
Course Title : Front-end development with React & TypeScript
Number of Credits & Hours : 6 (L: 0; T: 6; P: 0) - 90 Hours
Course Category : Web Development (WD)
Course objective
The course aims at training students on the following fronts:
● Understand the basic architecture of front end applications and create
web applications using React & TypeScript.
● Industry practices for state management and using static types. Learn to
port untyped JavaScript to TypeScript.
● Learn to build React projects from scratch to scale.
● Learn the best practices followed in industry for production grade applications.
Prerequisites
Students should have completed Web Development 201, before beginning this
[Link] should have access to a computer with a modern OS (Windows 11
or above,Ubuntu 22.04 and above, macOS 10.15 and above).
Course outline
Module 1: React fundamentals
This module introduces students to the React framework, and demonstrates some of the
basic concepts that underpin the use of React for building dynamic reactive user
[Link] bootstrap a React project using Vite.
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Module 2: Introduction to TypeScript
This module introduces students are introduced to the TypeScript programming
[Link] learn how to migrate a React application to TypeScript.
Module 3: State management and handling user
inputs with forms
This module introduces students to React States and React component lifecycle. They
learnstate management by building a form and accepting user input.
Module 4: React Hooks
This module discusses the common pitfalls of state management, introduces in-
browserpersistent storage, demonstrates additional standard hooks and the creation
and use ofcustom hooks.
Module 5: Routing
In this module, students learn to use react-router to navigate between different static and
dynamic pages. They will also learn to deploy a React app to Netlify. It demonstrates the
various aspects of client-side routing such as the use of path parameters, query
parameters,and programmatic navigation.
Module 6: Making API Request with React
Through this module, students learn to make calls to the external APIs to integrate with
the React application they have developed. They also learn to implement the user
authentication and how to handle user sessions.
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Module 7: React Context and Application state
management
This module teaches students how to manage complex states using the state reducer
pattern, and then demonstrates the pattern by implementing it using React’s
useReducerhook.
Module 8: Handing advance UI events
Through this module, students will learn how to implement complex UI events in React.
Module 9: Creating Production-Ready React Apps
This final module focuses on production-specific optimizations of a React application,
bestpractices for its build & deployment process, and the configuration of a progressive
web app.
Module 10: Integrating AI in React Development
In this module, students learn about advanced AI techniques and their applications
in front-end development. They will explore how AI can enhance user experiences
and
optimize web application performance. The module also covers several practical
examplesof AI-powered features in React applications.
Text/Reference Books (if any):
This course does not require students to use physical textbooks. Instead, original course
material (videos, text and images) has been prepared for students to go through and is
open-sourced under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
©Pupilfirst Pvt. Ltd.
This course material may include some third-party content with a compatible license, and
external links for additional reading on the Internet. Students are also taught how to
searchfor information on their own.
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Course outcome
By the end of the course the students will:
● Be able to create Single Page Applications (SPA) using React.
● Be able to build robust UIs using the statically typed programming
language TypeScript.
● Get better at styling web applications using Tailwind CSS.
● Learn typed state management that is inline with the backend data model.
******
**
Course Code : AI powered Web Development 401
Course Title : Getting ready for production
Number of Credits & Hours : 7 (L: 0; T: 0; P: 14) - 210 Hours
Course Category : Web Development (WD)
Course objective
The objective of WD401 is to allow the student to learn more about production-
readydeployments.
This can be achieved either via the WD401 course material or through an internship at a
company. To complete WD401 by following Pupilfirst's course material, students will
need to deploy an application of their choice that integrates learnings from earlier
courses, and also work through the material of the course, integrating the new
production-readiness
concepts that are presented here.
The second option is for the student to gain an internship at a company where they get
towork on an application that tests a similar skill-set.
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Prerequisites
● Students should have completed Web Development 301, before
beginning this course.
● Students should have access to a computer with a modern OS (Windows
11 or above, Ubuntu 22.04 and above, macOS 10.15 and above).
Course outline
Module 1: Workflow using pull-requests
This module acts as an advanced guide to the usage of git in development teams, where
the norm is to develop on branches, perform peer-reviews, and to re-work based on
reviews before merging. Since this cycle is most often performed using online tooling that
uses pull requests to achieve this workflow, students are taught how to open a pull
request, make
changes, submit work for review and then update code based on review.
Module 2: JS Bundling - integration of JS into non-JS
backends
This module covers the history of why "bundling" as a process exists for the JS
ecosystem,the most common bundling tools, and the general methodology. This module
also covers the new "import maps" feature that allows for similar capability without the
use of a bundling tool.
Module 3: Compile to JS languages - options &
approaches
This module covers the reason why languages that compile to JS exist, the different
purposes that they serve, and demonstrate a few of the most popular options and
thedifferences between each.
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Module 4: Testing
This module covers the importance of testing, the different approaches to testing such
as unit testing, integration testing, and hybrid testing. It should also cover popular
librariesthat are used to help with testing, and also common pitfalls in the practice of
testing andhow to avoid them.
Module 5: CI/CD - Continuous integration & delivery
This module teaches students about modern development processes that enable teams
torelease changes quickly and often, by leading them through the process of setting up
an automated system that detects changes to code to run tests and then linking that to
the deployment of code that passes its test suite to a remote server.
Module 6: Application environments
This module teaches students about the different environments in which an application
isexpected to run. This module explains the differences between the environments that
a student has already operated in - development, testing & production, and also
introduces the concept of a staging environment which acts as a gateway to the
production
environment.
Module 7: Containerization
This module covers the field of containerization - where complex applications are
packagedto run in isolated spaces called containers. The approach for covering this topic
involves theuse of the popular Docker (OCI) standard, teaching students how to build a
Docker image
for their web application, and how to deploy this image to different targets.
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Module 8: Internationalization and localization
This module covers i18n, teaching students the basics of setting up their web applications
to support users who prefer or require a language different from the default language of
theapp, and/or live in a timezone that is different from the default. This module also covers
L10n, teaching students how to use the i18n framework to customise their web application
for another [Link] 9: Error logging & debugging
This module covers the practice of logging and notification of runtime errors that occur
ona deployed application. This module also covers the process that is followed to detect
the source of a bug, and how testing can be used to ensure a fix and to prevent
recurrences.
Text/Reference Books (if any):
This course does not require students to use physical textbooks. Instead, original course
material (videos, text and images) has been prepared for students to go through and is
open-sourced under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
©Pupilfirst Pvt. Ltd.
This course material may include some third-party content with a compatible license, and
external links for additional reading on the Internet. Students are also taught how to
searchfor information on their own.
Course outcome
By the end of the course the students will:
● Be able to bundle a codebase with non-trivial JS dependencies and code.
● Know how to differentiate between popular JS flavours and pick one that is
suitable for a task.
● Understand why testing is important, what TDD is, and be able to write both
unit and integration tests for Rails applications that use JS in the front-end.
● Be able to set up a CI/CD pipeline for a server-side application, ensuring the
code reaches production automatically after tests pass.
● Know how to organise & communicate development work using pull requests.
● Be aware of container-based deployments, be able to build a Docker image for
their web application and then deploy that image to a web server.
● Know how to set up a web application to support localisation.
● Set up error-logging for their web application to capture runtime errors - both in
the back-end and in the front-end. They'll also know how to write tests that
replicate errors before implementing a fix to prevent regressions.
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