ASEAN Foundation to train 1.7 million students and educators in AI by 2028

The ASEAN Foundation said on September 11, 2026, that Southeast Asian education officials had endorsed an expanded phase of its AI Ready ASEAN program. The new phase aims to give more than 1.7 million students, teachers and university staff practical artificial intelligence skills by the end of 2028. Indonesian news site Pasardana, citing the foundation's press release, reported that the initiative was presented at an open session of the 21st ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Education.

According to TechNode Global, the phase forms part of the AI Opportunity Fund: Asia-Pacific, a regional initiative led by the social investment network AVPN with support from Google.org and the Asian Development Bank. The program focuses on school teachers, university students and faculty, and on the use of AI in teaching, research and work. The foundation plans to work with local implementing partners in ASEAN member states to develop locally adapted curricula and to coordinate with education ministries.

News reports said the AI Opportunity Fund was launched in 2024 and that, by the end of June, it had trained more than 500,000 workers and 50,000 small businesses across Asia-Pacific. According to the same reports, the foundation said the program is aligned with ASEAN's socio-cultural and economic strategic plans to 2030 and with its education work plan, and that the new phase moves from raising awareness of AI toward applied learning.