In a small classroom in rural Nepal, the students lean forward and stare at a chalkboard. There isn’t a projector here, or an internet connection, or a computer lab that’s fully stocked. But there’s a sense of curiosity in the room here. At what point in physical space do you think they might intersect? When he wonders, “How could a computer know it’s your face?” hands rise instantly. A student compares this with the way humans remember faces. Another speculates if computers have memories for faces. Another wonders, Do machines really “see,” or do they just compute numbers?
But this small symposium is representative of a much larger truth: Education in AI in Nepal remains rare beyond urban centres, but student interest and potential reside everywhere. As AI literacy increasingly becomes a foundational skill globally, however, Nepal is at a turning point where it must invest in bridging the gap now or risk leaving an entire generation behind.
Project Sahayatri was founded to bridge this gap by building artificial intelligence and education accessible, understandable and relatable for all students across Nepal.
The Birth of Sahayatri
Sirjan Ghimire graduated from high school in Biratnagar with a troubling realization. While artificial intelligence was reshaping global industries such as healthcare, agriculture, finance, and education, artificial intelligence education in Nepal remained largely inaccessible. Most Nepali students outside the Kathmandu Valley had little to no exposure to AI technologies or AI literacy.
“I was privileged to learn about AI through online resources,” Ghimire reflects. “But my peers in rural areas had no idea about the application of artificial intelligence. That felt fundamentally unfair.”
The name “Sahayatri”, meaning fellow friend or companion on a journey in Nepali, reflects how Ghimire envisioned the initiative not only as teachers delivering lectures, but as companions walking alongside students as they explored artificial intelligence education for the first time.
Ghimire assembled a team of four university students: Yogesh Jirel, Prithivi Koirala, Rabi Dangol, and Sagar Khadka. Together, they developed an ambitious curriculum that emphasized not only the use of AI tools, but a deeper understanding of the mathematics and logic behind artificial intelligence in Nepal.
“Our first meeting lasted four hours where we discussed the current AI policy of Nepal 2082, topical depth, etc” Yogesh recalls. “Sirjan was adamant that we shouldn’t water things down. He kept saying, ‘These students are smart. They can handle complexity if we explain it well.’”
Teaching Foundations, Not Just Tools
What distinguished Sahayatri from typical technology workshops was its strong emphasis on foundational learning. Rather than focusing only on applications, the program centered on AI literacy and conceptual clarity, key pillars of artificial intelligence education in Nepal.
The team designed a three-day curriculum. Day one covered AI fundamentals and real-world applications, helping students understand how artificial intelligence in education and other sectors is transforming society. Day two focused on mathematics, linear algebra basics, how neural networks learn through gradient descent, and optimization concepts. Day three involved hands-on coding, where students built simple machine learning models from scratch.
“The math component was non-negotiable for Sirjan,” Rabi explains. “He insisted that artificial intelligence is more about physics and mathematics than tools. When students realized they already had foundational knowledge for AI, their confidence transformed.”
Over six months, the Sahayatri team reached more than 4,000 students across twenty schools in ten districts throughout Nepal, significantly expanding access to artificial intelligence education in Nepal.
Journeys and Adaptations
Each location presented unique challenges that required flexibility and creativity. In one remote school, electricity failed in the middle of a demonstration. “Instead of canceling, Sirjan had students work through neural network calculations by hand,” Sagar remembers. “Each student became a dummy neuron, passing calculations to neighbors. Students physically experienced how information flows through artificial intelligence systems.”
In Morang, forty-five students shared just eight functional computers. “We created group activities where students discussed problems, designed solutions on paper, and then took turns implementing them,” Prithivi notes. “It fostered more collaboration than individual machines would have. Students taught each other, debugged together, and celebrated when the code finally worked.”
Traveling across Nepal also exposed the team to the country’s cultural diversity. “Every region had distinct food, customs, and dialects,” Rabi recalls. “Students shared their worlds with us as much as we shared AI literacy and knowledge of artificial intelligence with them.”
Expanding the Vision
As Sahayatri gained recognition, opportunities for expansion emerged. In collaboration with Let’s Learn Asia, Ghimire brought artificial intelligence education in Nepal to universities including Trinity International College, KIST, Padma Kanya Campus, and Uniglobe.
“University sessions were different,” Yogesh reflects. “Students had stronger technical backgrounds, so we went deeper into computer vision, natural language processing, and reinforcement learning. But they often lacked the contextual thinking we had seen in high school students.”
These lectures focused largely on real-life applications of artificial intelligence. Discussions explored how AI can be integrated into other disciplines, how it can be leveraged for problem-solving and product development, and concerns around workforce displacement due to artificial intelligence in Nepal. The sessions were more technical, covering AI model training, deployment, and real-world implementation.
Measuring Impact Beyond Numbers
While reaching more than 4,000 students across multiple districts represents significant reach, deeper indicators better reflect the impact of artificial intelligence and education in Nepal.
Several schools reported increased enrollment in computer science electives following Sahayatri visits. Months later, students contacted the team with independently built projects such as weather prediction models, Nepali language sentiment analyzers, and stock market analysis tools using AI concepts.
“One student emailed us six months after our visit,” Yogesh shares. “She taught herself Python using free online resources, built an inventory tracking program for her father’s shop, and wanted advice on studying computer science at university. That’s the impact that matters which is what students did with the AI education foundation afterward.”
Equally inspiring was seeing students become educators themselves. “Multiple students started informal study groups in their communities,” Rabi observes. “They taught younger siblings, neighbors, and friends creating ripple effects we never anticipated.”
Reflections and Future Aspirations
The journey transformed every team member. “I learned that effective education requires cultural humility,” Sirjan reflects. “We couldn’t transplant methods that worked in Kathmandu into different contexts. We had to listen, adapt, and co-create with communities.”
The team’s vision extends beyond this first phase. They are developing train-the-trainer programs so teachers can independently deliver AI literacy workshops. They are creating open-source curriculum materials in Nepali and regional languages and building an online platform where students can access lessons and connect with mentors.
“We want sustainable impact,” Sirjan explains. “Not just traveling endlessly, but empowering local facilitators to continue artificial intelligence education in Nepal.”
For Sirjan personally, Sahayatri clarified his purpose. “I could pursue technology for technology’s sake such as building products or optimizing algorithms. But what drives me is technology’s ability to create opportunity and level the playing field. Sahayatri showed me that expanding access to artificial intelligence is the work I want to do.”
A Message of Possibility
Walking through classrooms across Nepal, the Sahayatri team witnessed something powerful, the moment students realized technology was not distant or mysterious, but something they could understand, use, and create.
“Students taught us as much as we taught them,” Sirjan reflects. “They taught us resilience, learning despite limited resources. They taught us curiosity, that is asking questions even when answers weren’t obvious. They taught us that talent exists everywhere, but opportunity doesn’t. And that’s what artificial intelligence education in Nepal must work to change.”
That message, delivered by young Nepalis to thousands of eager students, represents education at its best, which is not just the filling of empty vessels, but the lighting of fires. And across Nepal, those fires of AI literacy continue to burn.
Conclusion
The state of artificial intelligence literacy is in the developmental phase wit the increase in computer literacy and advancements in startups. Introduction to policies related to AI development, education through artificial intelligence courses, and day-to-day usage of AI will help in the development of AI education in Nepal.
