Google Launches AI Skills Academy in India to Power Up Newsrooms and Educators

Google has joined hands with the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) to roll out the Google News Initiative (GNI) AI Skills Academy in India.

This 10-week program, with support from How India Lives, is all about helping journalists, newsroom folks, and media educators get comfortable with AI to supercharge their work and tell better stories.

The academy offers a practical, part-online, part-in-person training where participants dive into Google’s AI tools like NotebookLM, Gemini, AI Studio, and Pinpoint.

These tools make tasks like transcribing interviews, translating text, crunching data, or creating multilingual stories a breeze. The idea is to cut down on repetitive work so journalists can spend more time digging deep and crafting creative stories. The program includes weekly workshops, hands-on projects, one-on-one mentoring, and group brainstorming sessions to help everyone apply AI in their day-to-day.

• Google Launches AI Skills Academy in India to Train Journalists and Educators
• GNI AI Skills Academy Empowers Indian Newsrooms with Tools Like Gemini and NotebookLM
• Google Partners with IIMC to Equip Journalists with AI Training Across India

“Our early engagements with newsrooms have shown the powerful potential of Pinpoint, NotebookLM, and Gemini in enhancing transcription, translation, and presentations” said Durga Raghunath, Google India’s Head of News Partnerships. The program isn’t just for pros—it’s also hitting IIMC’s six campuses across India, training teachers and students to prepare the next wave of journalists for an AI-powered world.

Nimish Rustagi, IIMC’s Registrar, is thrilled about the collaboration:“As AI transforms journalism, this collaboration will help professionals and students stay ahead, promoting responsible innovation and creativity in storytelling.” Media pros can apply until August 14, 2025, to join this game-changing opportunity.

Also Read: Google Pixel 10 Series Set to Launch in India on August 20

Building on programs like the GNI Data Journalism Lab, Google’s AI Skills Academy is part of a bigger push to help Indian newsrooms embrace AI in a smart way. By giving journalists these tools, the academy hopes to inspire diverse, powerful stories that connect with people all over the country.