We’re seeing a growing shift toward youth-led innovation in AI education, and for good reason. We believe giving young people real decision-making power builds innovation, trust, and agency. Our AI Challenge, Youth Advisory Board, and peer-led programs are redefining what youth leadership in technology looks like.
At Pi515, we’ve done this from the start.
Recently, we have noticed a new funding trend regarding AI education: a desire for youth-led initiatives. Opportunities like the Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund and Young Futures’ “Oops!…AI Did It Again” Challenge, both of which are backed by some of the biggest names in AI innovation and education, are seeking bold, youth-led projects to ensure students have agency and decision-making power over the future of AI.
At Pi515, a youth-centered and youth-driven approach is foundational to who we are. Since the beginning, it’s just how we’ve done it.
A tool built by adults for teens rarely “gets” how teens live, think, or struggle. When students lead, they lead in their language, with their cultural nuances, and within their social dynamics. This results in creating tools that are not only innovative, but deeply informed by diverse and authentic perspectives. Adults can try – but only students really understand the assignment.
TeachingAI as a black box (“use this tool”) is not enough. Youth need agency: the ability to question, remix, and build with AI tools themselves. Agency enables them to learn the limits of AI – and then how to push past them.
Current generations no longer buy in to top-down authoritative models. They give respect when it’s earned. When grant decisions, program design, and oversight are youth-informed, the results are funded projects that are more grounded, relevant, and generative. The funding shift recognizes that we need co-creation, shared direction, and student-led design to drive impactful results and a more equitable future.
Pi515’s AI Challenge asks college students to find solutions to real social issues in Iowa, whether it be agriculture, finance, education, cybersecurity and more. These students work together in teams to use AI and Big Data to create working solutions, and then pitch them to the community. They aren’t assigned topics or handed templates — students create and iterate all on their own. They form relationships with our mentors to gain insight and receive feedback as they see wish. Innovative projects have emerged from this challenge — from AI-powered crop detection tools and water pollution prediction models to livestock health monitoring systems —all designed and developed by Iowa students using technology to solve real-world problems in their communities.
TeamByteForce, creators of the first-place AI crop detection project, shared: “This victory reinforces our commitment to using AI technology to address critical agricultural challenges in Iowa. We’re excited to continue developing ByteForce and hopefully make it accessible to farmers across the Midwest!”
Students help gather data, shape content, and teach curriculum. To ensure youth have real decision-making power in our organization, we created a Youth Advisory Board. As Advik Bajpai explains: “The Pi515 Youth Advisory Board exists to provide youth-centered insights to better and cater our programs and projects to serve the youth’s needs directly, and aid the organization to serve their mission in a “by youth, for youth” format. Currently, we are working on our very own AI Toolkit, which hopes to spread awareness and exposure of Artificial Intelligence to school districts and business all across Iowa.”
In our programs, we encourage youth to lead. Our model fosters peer-to-peer mentorship that builds confidence and creates a lasting cycle of trust and leadership. We also create opportunities for youth to lead educators, industry experts, government officials, and community members. Our students facilitated our first AI Education Roundtable, led workshops at the Iowa STEM Summit, and have conducted trainings for educators on AI in the classroom. At Pi515, we believe young people aren't just the future — they are already the innovators, creators, and problem-solvers of today.
Youth-led AI education isn’t optional. It’s essential. If you want to help support our mission or have insights to share, contact us at tech@pi515.org.
