Three Indians among global finalists for World Education Medals 2025 for innovation in AI-driven learning.

Two students and an educator from India were on Thursday announced among 15 finalists from across the globe competing for the World Education Medals 2025.

The five shortlisted include Raul John Aju, a 16-year-old student from Kerala and founder of AIrealm Technologies Pvt Ltd, and Ashwat Prasanna, a Bengaluru student and founder of EyeSight in the "Students" category.

Vineeta Garg, head of IT at a Delhi school, is one of five finalists for the World Education Medal in the "Educators" category.

"With changemakers such as Raul John Aju, Ashwat Prasanna, and Vineeta Garg, I am sure we are moving in the right direction for the future," said Mayank Dhingra, Director and Global Head of Education Business and Strategy at HP - the IT company behind the medals.

"Their innovative work is a shining beacon of what is to come for education, as it must transform in order to meet the future needs of generations to come," he said. The World Education Medals were founded by HP to shine a light on groundbreaking work by innovators harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) to transform education and close the learning gap.

It celebrates achievers around the globe across three categories of Leaders, Educators, and Students, for demonstrating impact, leadership, and advocacy in using AI for social good.

"Research, including our own 'HP Futures 2025' report, shows the benefits of AI to close learning gaps and deliver equitable education, but only when deployed ethically and effectively," said Dhingra.

Raul has been selected for his signature venture, ThinkCraft Academy, that works towards democratizing AI education from rural schools to global universities.

His co-finalist, Ashwat, has been nominated for his work on making the learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics accessible to visually impaired students.

Vineeta's selection in the Educator category is a result of EmpowerED with AI-an initiative developing multilingual AI resources, accessible tools and gamified learning platforms that enable students and teachers to understand, use and create with AI. Others shortlisted for this year's medals come from the US, the UAE and Philippines as well as Switzerland, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Italy and Greece. The winner of each of the three medals, selected from among the finalists by a Global Judging Academy comprising prominent individuals, will be announced next month and recognised at the Education Leaders Forum in London.