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Through the Practical AI Skilling for Teachers and Future-ready Students program under the Microsoft Elevate initiative, Microsoft, together with Alkademi and ParagonCorp, is empowering teachers to become agents of change in the classroom while creating opportunities for students to develop AI-driven solutions that address real-world community needs.
In a virtual simulation built using Minecraft Education, homes damaged by disasters no longer rely entirely on manual assessments. An AI Agent can operate independently to evaluate the extent of damage, identify repair requirements, and run building reconstruction simulations while taking community safety into account.
The simulation was developed by Glorious Ariel Heaveniawan Purwoto and his team, “Effie Von Reva.” Motivated by the observation that post-disaster infrastructure assessment and repair processes are often slow and can put field personnel at risk, the student from Boyolali, Central Java, wanted to demonstrate that AI is more than just an abstract concept. With the right access, guidance, and opportunities to experiment, AI can be transformed into practical solutions for humanitarian challenges.
The project, titled Autonomous Humanitarian Relief, earned his team first place in the National AI Coding Challenge. Guided by four core principles, humanitarian impact, autonomy, scalable design, and data-driven decision-making, Ariel and his team demonstrated how the younger generation can use AI to envision disaster response systems that are faster, safer, and more effective.
Ariel’s story reflects the spirit celebrated at Elevate: Lentera Inovasi, the culminating event of the Practical AI Skilling for Teachers and Future-ready Students program. Held at the Paragon Community Hub, the event brought together teachers, students, education advocates, and ecosystem partners to share experiences, showcase innovative projects, and reflect on their journey of integrating coding and AI into the learning process.
Arief Suseno, AI Skills Director at Microsoft Indonesia, emphasized that the development of AI skills must go hand in hand with strengthening teachers’ capabilities and providing students with opportunities to experiment.
“The impact of AI in education is not determined solely by the sophistication of the technology. More importantly, it depends on the ability of teachers and students to use it critically, creatively, and responsibly. Through Microsoft Elevate, we aim to help teachers build the confidence to bring AI into the classroom while creating opportunities for students to turn their curiosity into solutions for real-world challenges in society,” Arief said.
When teachers not only learn, but lead change
Behind these student projects are teachers who serve as the bridge between technology and the real needs of the classroom.
The program was designed to strengthen teachers’ capacity to integrate digital literacy, computational thinking, coding, and AI understanding into the learning process. Through a cascade training model, teachers who have completed the training are equipped to share their knowledge with fellow educators and students within their communities.
Teachers’ learning journeys are reinforced through the LEAPS approach: Learn, Explore, Amplify, Present, and Shine. Participants are not only expected to complete the training modules but also to apply what they have learned in real classroom settings, encourage other teachers and students to learn, share best practices, and expand the impact of learning within their respective communities. This framework is also used across the broader Microsoft Elevate ecosystem to support participants in progressing from theoretical understanding to practical application and the amplification of effective teaching practices.
One of the program’s advocates is Dewi Pujining Nugraheni, a teacher from Purbalingga Regency. For Dewi, technology education should start with the spirit of learning by doing. She wants students to understand that AI is not merely something to be studied from textbooks, but a tool that can be used collaboratively to understand and solve the challenges around them.
As a Wardah Inspiring Teacher alumna, Dewi has extended learning beyond her own classroom. On her own initiative, she visited more than five schools to introduce Minecraft Education, Hour of Code: Voyage Aquatic, and AI for Oceans. She also mentors fellow teachers, helping them build the confidence to teach computational thinking to their students.
Her journey reflects the true meaning of a multiplier. The benefits created do not stop at personal skill development but extend to other teachers, schools, and students. Her recognition as one of the program’s three highest-ranked Level 2 AI Coding Ambassadors is a testament to the consistent grassroots efforts she has undertaken.
A similar spirit can be found in Sidenreng Rappang Regency, South Sulawesi, through the journey of Mansur. He is driven by a simple yet fundamental mission: geographic distance from major urban centers should not limit teachers’ access to world-class educational technology.
By leveraging a structured curriculum and Minecraft Education, Mansur has guided teachers and students in his community in exploring coding and AI, while also preparing them to participate in national-level initiatives. Classrooms that were once far removed from the center of the technology ecosystem have gradually evolved into spaces where students and teachers can experiment, collaborate, and build confidence.
Learning that continues amid challenges
The transformation journey does not always take place under ideal circumstances.
In Pasaman Regency, even as the surrounding community worked to recover from the impact of flooding, Yuli Fitria continued to incorporate coding and AI to elevate her teaching. As an educator at SMA Negeri 1 Rao, Yuli views education as one of the cornerstones of recovery: a means of sustaining the spirit of learning, fostering hope, and preparing students for the future.
Minecraft Education has provided her with a platform to keep students engaged through problem-solving, exploration, and collaborative learning. For Yuli, the use of technology is not an attempt to overlook the challenges facing her community. Rather, it is a way to help students recognize that they can continue to learn, create, and envision new possibilities despite difficult circumstances.
In Jakarta, M. Fajri Santosa has been creating impact on a different scale. As an educator at SMP Negeri 25 Jakarta and one of the trainers for the 8th Cohort of the Wardah Inspiring Teacher program, Fajri has not only integrated AI into teaching and learning at his school but has also trained fellow educators from various regions across Indonesia.
His position among the top five on the national LEAPS leaderboard reflects his consistency to mastering the AI learning ecosystem and sharing that knowledge with fellow educators. Through his role as a “teacher of teachers,” individual competence is transformed into collective capacity, an essential element in ensuring that educational transformation does not depend on only a handful of individuals.
The stories of Dewi, Mansur, Yuli, and Fajri demonstrate that strengthening teachers’ capabilities cannot be measured solely by the number of training modules they complete. The more meaningful impact is evident when teachers are willing to embrace new approaches, share their knowledge, and create learning environments that empower students to experiment with confidence.
Minecraft as a problem-solving laboratory
While LEAPS strengthens teachers as drivers of learning, the National AI Coding Challenge provides students with an opportunity to transform that learning into practical solutions.
For students, Minecraft Education is more than just a game. It serves as a digital laboratory where they can test algorithms, build simulations, observe the consequences of decisions, and continuously refine their solutions through iteration.
In the National AI Coding Challenge, student teams were challenged to create AI-powered Minecraft worlds that address real-world issues across four focus areas: education, the environment, public safety, and accessibility. Participants were not only tasked with building virtual environments, but also with designing the automation and algorithms that drive the AI Agents operating within them.
A wide range of ideas emerged from the challenge, including systems that help guide communities to safe zones during earthquakes, route-planning solutions that consider distance and terrain conditions, and agents that assist in assessing and repairing homes after disasters.
According to Alfan Hidayatullah, Chief of Education at Alkademi, one of the most notable developments throughout the program was participants’ ability to connect technical skills with issues that are relevant to their everyday lives.
“We have seen that teachers and students did not stop at simply learning how coding or AI works. They began asking how these technologies could be applied to address the needs of their schools and communities. From teachers who expanded learning opportunities to hundreds of other participants to students who designed disaster-response simulations, the program has demonstrated that access, mentorship, and opportunities to experiment can unlock innovation potential across regions,” said Alfan.
This is where the National AI Coding Challenge becomes more than just a competition. The challenge provides students with the opportunity to realize that technology is not only something to be used, but also something that can be shaped, tested, and directed to help others.
From learning experiences to a broader ecosystem
Elevate: Lentera Inovasi served as a meeting point for two forms of leadership: teachers who are expanding access to learning and students who are using that learning to create solutions.
Selected teachers and students were also given the opportunity to broaden their perspectives through a learning visit to the Microsoft Technology Center (MTC) Singapore. There, they explored developments in technology and AI, along with the many ways these innovations can be applied in education.
Expanding impact across communities
As of July 31, 2026, the Practical AI Skilling for Teachers and Future-ready Students program had engaged 85,469 teachers in coding and AI training. Through a cascade learning model, participants subsequently extended the program’s benefits to 64,999 teachers and 2,734 students across 38 provinces and 407 regencies and cities throughout Indonesia.
The National AI Coding Challenge attracted participation from 42 teams representing 42 schools across the country. From this pool of participants, 10 teams were selected as finalists and presented their solutions as part of the program series. Meanwhile, Elevate: Lentera Inovasi brought together 102 participants, including teachers, students, education partners, and ecosystem stakeholders.
As part of ongoing recognition and capacity-building efforts, two teachers and three students were also selected to take part in a learning visit to the Microsoft Technology Center (MTC) Singapore.
However, this milestone is not the end of the journey for these teachers and students. The program’s greatest value lies in what happens after participants return to their schools and communities: when a teacher mentors fellow educators; when students begin to see challenges in their surroundings as problems that can be solved; and when the use of AI in the classroom is accompanied by critical thinking, creativity, empathy, and a sense of responsibility.
The participants’ journeys demonstrate that the future of AI-powered education is not built solely on tools and platforms. It is built by people: teachers who are committed to continuous learning, students who have the courage to ask questions, and communities that provide them with the opportunity to create meaningful change.
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Main image: Glorius Ariel Heaveniawan with the “Effie Von Reva” team at the Singapore Microsoft Technology Center.