TUMO has won first place in the 2024 to 2025 WISE Prize for Education, securing the $500,000 award for its groundbreaking artificial intelligence curriculum. A total of 427 applications were submitted to this year’s competition and six projects advanced to the final round, with TUMO ultimately selected as the winner. The Armenian educational center was recognized for its innovative AI co-learning platform and new generative AI program, earning the top honor in a global competition that drew hundreds of submissions.
As the first prize winner, TUMO will receive $500,000 from a total $1 million prize pool, with Iqrali.jo receiving $300,000 for second place and Darsel receiving $200,000 for third. The winners were announced during the WISE 12 Summit in Doha.
TUMO’s award winning project is built on the idea of using AI to teach AI. The organization’s new AI co-learner platform and its generative AI curriculum were recognized for innovation, effectiveness, and scalability, and TUMO states that the future of learning is already here, human centered, rigorous, and inclusive.
“Teens need to take charge of their relationship with AIso that they don’t become passive consumers of the technology. They need to become what we call ‘AI super-learners,’ mastering new developments in the field as they emerge,” said Marie Lou Papazian, CEO of TUMO, in comments shared with Zartonk Media.
TUMO’s AI does not teach students, it learns alongside them. When a student masters a concept, the AI asks for help. When a student struggles, the AI goes first and the student follows. The AI co-learner adapts in real time to each student’s learning pace and reinforces understanding through conversation rather than instruction.
“The WISE Prize acknowledges that AI in education can be human-centered, rigorous and inclusive. What started as an Armenia innovation is now part of a much larger effort to ensure that teenagers globally can learn with AI, understand its limits and shape how it is used,” Papazian added.
The WISE competition featured a range of educational solutions and innovations from around the world. This year, the competition focused on innovative approaches to global educational challenges.
