Day of AI in Latvia

Day of AI in Latvia is an educational initiative implemented by RTU Riga Business School in cooperation with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and its international MIT RAISE program. The goal is to improve students' artificial intelligence (AI) literacy, as well as support teachers in integrating AI topic into the learning process. The initiative was launched in Latvia in 2026 and was implemented as part of the ALL Digital Weeks.

The initiative is supported by the "Fonds AUGT" and Swedbank Latvia. Day of AI is one of the initiatives supported by the Code4Europe project grants in Latvia and these activities are funded by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA), Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL), project No. 101158834 — Code4Europe. In Latvia, the Code4Europe project is implemented by the Latvian Information and Communication Technology Association (LIKTA).

The initiative provides schools with free access, high-quality educational materials adapted to the Latvian context, which help students understand the working principles of artificial intelligence, its daily applications, as well as related issues of ethics, safety, and responsible use. The materials are designed for students aged 12–17 and can be seamlessly integrated into various subjects.

Activities and results achieved

The initiative implemented several interrelated activities, combining educational resource development, teacher training, and large-scale school engagement.

Main activities:

Developed and adapted 16 lesson plans across six core themes: "What is AI?", "How Do Machines Learn?", "How Do Machines Create Content?", "AI and Ethics", "AI and Art", and "AI and Elections".
Established a network where 24 educators were trained as regional ambassadors to provide expertise on the "AI Day" curriculum.
Organized a nationwide event on March 17th, featuring a central online masterclass titled "What is AI?".
Hosted the "Learn with AI" competition, where students proposed their own AI solutions to enhance learning.
Executed a comprehensive campaign across media channels, social networks, and urban advertising.

Main results:

273 schools and 27,510 students involved across Latvia.
Over 700 educators reached.
Over 5,900 feedback responses collected.
High satisfaction ratings:
- Educator training: 5/5 and 4.71/5
- Teaching materials: 4.45/5

These results demonstrate significant interest in AI and the urgent need for a structured approach to its integration into the school education system.

Why is this a good practice?

Day of AI in Latvia is an example of good practice in several aspects:

Systemic Approach: The project combines a one-day event covering the whole of Latvia with long-term solutions – educational materials, teacher training and community building – rather than a one-off event. This ensures broad reach and sustainability of the initiative.
Practical and Accessible Content: Resources are free of charge, easily adaptable, and cross-curricular, significantly lowering implementation barriers.
Teacher Capacity Building: The Ambassador program allows teachers to become agents of change in their local communities, facilitating effective knowledge transfer.
Cross-Sector Collaboration: The initiativeis based on cooperation between the public, private and non-governmental sectors in the field of education and technology, combining the competence and support of RTU Riga Business School, MIT RAISE, the Ministry of Education and Science, as well as non-governmental organisations and enterprises. This approach ensures high quality, scalability and sustainability of content.
Wide Reach and Scalability: A unified national approach, a central online lesson and a targeted communication campaign allowed to achieve a high level of public awareness and a high number of schools and educators in a short period of time.
Data-Driven Development:Regular collection and analysis of feedback allows for continuous improvement of content and approach in the future.