Since 2021, Serbia has made AI a compulsory topic in the national Informatics and Computing subject for all grade 7–8 students, backed by Petlja Foundation/UNDP teacher-training that reached 131 computer-science teachers and 320+ students by 2025.
131 teachers
Computer-science teachers exploring the Petlja AI lesson-planning assistant (2025)
320+ people
Teachers and students reached via the Putujuća Petlja caravan (caravan tour)
12 cities
Cities and municipalities visited by the caravan
30+ people
Participants in the AI Sparring Partner pilot
Details
Maturity
Established
Promoter
Ministry of Education, Republic of Serbia / Petlja Foundation / UNDP Serbia
Period
2021–present
Keywords
K-12 education, government curriculum, computer science, teacher training, public-private partnership
Context
Since 2021, Serbia has embedded artificial intelligence as a required topic within 'Informatics and Computing,' compulsory for all students in grades 5–8, with grade 7–8 pupils studying AI's role and importance twice weekly; AI is also offered as a high-school elective. Because the subject sits inside the national curriculum set by the Ministry of Education, it reaches all public-school students in the relevant grades rather than a self-selected pilot group.
Activities
Implementation support has come chiefly through the Petlja Foundation, working with the Ministry of Education and UNDP under the 'Building Key Computing Competencies' initiative. The travelling 'Putujuća Petlja' teacher-training caravan visited 12 cities and municipalities. A 2025 rollout added AI features (an integrated lesson-planning assistant) to the Petlja platform, and a smaller pilot tested an 'AI Sparring Partner' tool for teachers' communication-skills training.
Results
The caravan reached more than 320 teachers and students combined. The 2025 AI lesson-planning assistant on the Petlja platform was explored by 131 computer-science teachers nationwide, and the AI Sparring Partner pilot involved more than 30 teachers, pedagogues and education professionals. No published, independent measurement of what students actually learn is available — the evidence covers curriculum design and training-attendance figures, not standardised test results.
Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — No public budget figure found; cost_band set to medium given the multi-city caravan and platform-development activity run with UNDP/Foundation support.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Compulsory curriculum element running continuously since 2021; timeline_band set to long.
Staffing & skills
Computer-science teachers deliver the compulsory curriculum, Petlja Foundation trainers, UNDP Serbia programme staff
Conditions for success
Placement inside a compulsory national subject, ensuring near-universal reach for the age cohort
Multi-city teacher-training caravan model
Government–NGO–UN partnership (Ministry of Education, Petlja Foundation, UNDP)
Common failure modes
No independent measurement of student learning outcomes published
Depth and consistency of AI teaching across Serbia's ~3,400 primary schools not independently verified
Data sources
Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.
