More than 100,000 candidates took part in a nationwide written selection test on Saturday (September 26) as part of a government initiative to equip young people with skills in artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
The examination was held simultaneously at designated centres across all 64 districts under the project titled “Skill Development of ICT-Knowledgeable Youth through Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology,” being implemented by the Department of Youth Development under the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
According to project sources, a total of 103,996 applications were submitted for the nationwide AI training programme. Following an initial screening, 102,928 applications were deemed eligible, and the eligible applicants were allowed to participate in the written selection test.
Under the second phase of the project, 1,600 trainees will be selected, with 25 trainees to be chosen from each of the country’s 64 districts. Based on the number of eligible applicants, more than 64 candidates are competing for each training slot on average.
Competition was particularly high in Dhaka. A total of 17,552 applicants applied for just 25 training slots allocated to Dhaka district, meaning that approximately 702 candidates are competing for each slot.
During the examination, Youth and Sports Ministry Secretary Md Mahbub-ul-Alam, Director General of the Department of Youth Development Md Motahar Hossain, Project Director Md Atikur Rahman, and Dhaka District Deputy Director AKM Shahriar visited an examination centre in Kallyanpur, Dhaka.
They inspected the overall examination environment, seating arrangements and question paper management at the centre.
After visiting the examination centre, Youth and Sports Ministry Secretary Md Mahbub-ul-Alam said candidates who qualify in the written examination will appear for practical and oral tests on September 27, with the final results scheduled to be published on September 30.
He said the training programme for the 1,600 selected candidates would begin simultaneously across the country on October 1, with selection based on merit and qualifications.
Department of Youth Development Director General Md Motahar Hossain said the two-year project aims to provide AI technology training to a total of 11,200 young people.
Of them, 9,600 trainees will receive basic-level training, while 1,600 will receive advanced-level training.
He said the training programme would be conducted in 448 batches, with 25 trainees in each batch. Each training course will run for two months and comprise 50 classes totaling 300 hours of instruction.
The training will include hands-on instruction in a range of leading AI tools and platforms, including ChatGPT, Copilot, DeepSeek, Gemini, Midjourney, Runway, Synthesia, Tableau, ClickUp and Adobe Sensei.
