TLDR: Google, through its Google News Initiative (GNI), has partnered with the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) to launch a 10-week hybrid AI Skills Academy. This program aims to equip Indian newsrooms, media educators, and students with foundational AI understanding and practical skills using Google’s AI tools like NotebookLM, Gemini, AI Studio, and Pinpoint, ultimately enhancing efficiency and storytelling in journalism.
New Delhi, India – In a significant stride towards integrating advanced technology into the media landscape, Google, under its Google News Initiative (GNI), has officially launched the AI Skills Academy in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). This pioneering 10-week hybrid training series is designed to empower Indian newsrooms, media educators, and students with essential artificial intelligence knowledge and practical skills, enabling them to thrive in an increasingly AI-powered media ecosystem. The initiative, unveiled on July 28, 2025, aims to future-proof Indian journalism by providing hands-on exposure to Google’s cutting-edge AI tools, including NotebookLM, Gemini, AI Studio, and Pinpoint. The comprehensive curriculum will cover a range of applications, from streamlining journalistic workflows and boosting efficiency to facilitating deeper, more creative research and diverse storytelling.
Durga Raghunath, Head of News Partnerships at Google India, highlighted the practical benefits, stating, “Our early engagements with small, medium and large newsrooms have shown us the powerful impact that Pinpoint, NotebookLM and Gemini can have in transcription, translation and presentations, including using and deploying code.”
The program is structured to offer weekly deep dives, practical exercises, dedicated mentoring, and problem-solving sessions. Participants will learn to leverage AI for various newsroom tasks, such as transcribing interviews and videos, extracting and analyzing data from multiple formats, summarizing voluminous reports, and adapting content for different languages and platforms.
The collaboration extends beyond current news professionals. Google is also actively supporting IIMC in training media educators and students across its six campuses nationwide.
Nimish Rustagi, Registrar of IIMC, emphasized the importance of this partnership, stating, “This collaboration is a major step towards empowering media professionals and media educators with essential AI skills. As AI transforms journalism, this initiative will help them stay ahead. We intend to promote responsible innovation and enhance creativity in storytelling. IIMC is happy to be part of this initiative that will also help train students across our six campuses.”
Prof. Anubhuti Yadav, Head of the Department of New Media at IIMC, further added that the academy is preparing journalism and communication students to “thrive in an AI-powered media ecosystem” by enabling them to “harness cutting-edge tools for data journalism and content creation, fostering innovation with integrity.”
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Applications for the Google News Initiative AI Skills Academy are open from July 28, 2025, until August 14, 2025. The program is being delivered in partnership with the data intelligence firm How India Lives, ensuring a robust and practical learning experience.
