Future-oriented learning spaces where students directly solve problems and create outputs using artificial intelligence (AI) will be established at schools nationwide. The Ministry of Education will invest 16.7 billion won this year to build "AI Convergence Education Rooms" at 118 elementary, middle, high, and special schools. The aim is to expand an educational environment that goes beyond simply learning AI to actively using it in connection with regular subject classes.
The Ministry of Education announced Wednesday that it has finalized the selection of 118 schools eligible for support under the "2026 AI Convergence Education Room" program and began supporting their construction and operation on October 29. The initiative is being pursued in line with the "AI Talent Development Plan for All" announced last year, and was designed to create a future-oriented convergence education environment for the AI era at schools.
The ministry selected the supported schools based on a comprehensive evaluation of factors including alignment with the school curriculum, the specificity of space utilization plans, operational capacity, the sustainability of convergence education, and the potential for spreading outcomes. The selected schools are scheduled to complete the construction of the education rooms by the second half of this year and begin full-scale operation.
By school level, 35 elementary schools, 32 middle schools, 47 high schools, and 4 special schools were selected. By region, Seoul had the most with 19, followed by Gyeonggi with 18, Gyeongnam with 11, and Incheon, Chungnam, and Gyeongbuk with 8 each.
AI Convergence Education Rooms will be created as activity-centered spaces where students discover and solve problems on their own, moving away from traditional lecture-centered classrooms. They will be designed to allow exploration across various fields converging around science, mathematics, and information science, and will be built to support data analysis using AI, design and production activities, and collaborative project-based classes.
For example, project-based classes could include exploring ways to use fire trucks equipped with robotic arms at sites that are difficult for firefighters to enter, or building environmental monitoring devices to protect vulnerable populations during weather disasters such as heat waves.
"The AI Convergence Education Room is a project that pursues innovation in the educational environment to provide students with future-oriented learning experiences," the Ministry of Education said. "We will continue to support schools so they can enhance students' creative problem-solving capabilities."
