Reimagining Learning Outcomes Through Analytics
Date
1-2 August 2026
Time
9:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Venue
IIT Alumni Centre, Bengaluru (IITACB), Bommasandra
Overview
India has made significant strides in expanding access to education. The next challenge is ensuring that every child acquires foundational and grade-appropriate learning competencies. Large-scale student assessment data offers immense potential to identify learning gaps, understand inequities, and support evidence-based decision-making. Yet, much of this data remains underutilised.
Datathon 2026, jointly hosted by Akshara Foundation and ACSEL Technology Forum, seeks to unlock the power of assessment data and translate insights into actionable solutions.
Over two intensive days, participants will work with a large anonymised dataset covering learning outcomes across Grades 4, 5, and 6 and identify learning gaps, address inequities, improve resource allocation, and strengthen educational outcomes at scale.
➤ Day 1 (August 1 , 2026): Work on the data and submit insights and recommendations via a presentation deck.
➤ Day 2 (August 2 , 2026): 10 Shortlisted teams will present their solution to the jury, followed by the selection of the winning team/solution
The challenge is not merely to analyse data, but to generate insights, predictive tools, visualisations, and policy recommendations that can improve learning outcomes at scale.
Objectives
The Datathon aims to:
➤ Unlock insights from large-scale student assessment datasets.
➤ Identify learning gaps across competencies, gender, and geographies.
➤ Develop predictive and diagnostic models for early intervention.
➤ Create scalable dashboards and decision-support tools.
➤ Generate actionable recommendations for policymakers and practitioners.
➤ Foster collaboration between the education and technology ecosystems.
Dataset
Participants will work with an anonymised dataset comprising:
➤ Learning assessment data from Grades 4, 5, and 6
➤ Three years of student performance data across multiple learning competencies
➤ Disaggregated information at Gender and Administrative levels like Division, District, Block and Cluster
The dataset offers opportunities to analyse learning progression, identify disparities, understand regional variation, and uncover patterns that can inform effective interventions.
Challenge Areas
Participants will explore one or more of the following themes:
➤ Learning outcomes and gender disparities
➤ Geographic inequities in student performance
➤ Competency-level learning gaps
➤ Longitudinal learning progression
➤ Predictive analytics and early-warning systems
➤ Policy and intervention design
➤ Data visualisation and storytelling
➤ AI-enabled decision support for education systems
Participants
Participants will compete in interdisciplinary teams and the Datathon is open to:
University students and research scholars
Data scientists and analysts
Education researchers and practitioners
EdTech professionals
Government fellows and programme associates
Professionals from academia, industry, and civil society
Deliverables
Each team will submit an insight presentation summarising key findings Submissions will be evaluated on analytical rigour, innovation, policy relevance, usability, and potential for real-world impact.
Expected Outcomes
Datathon 2026 aims to generate:
➤ Actionable insights into learning outcomes and educational equity
➤ Identification of priority geographies and competencies requiring intervention.
➤ Prototype dashboards and decision-support tools
➤ Predictive models that support early intervention
➤ Evidence-based policy and programme recommendations
➤ Stronger collaboration between education and technology communities