Bhubaneswar: The higher education department has decided to introduce an Artificial Intelligence (AI) course for students enrolled in the Apprenticeship Embedded Degree Programme (AEDP), replacing the existing Good Citizenship course in the second semester from the 2026-27 academic session.Director of higher education, Kaliprasanna Mohapatra, has asked the registrars and principals of higher education institutions (HEIs) to introduce ‘AI for All’ as a value-added course (VAC) for AEDP students. The course is intended to equip students with basic AI knowledge and practical competencies relevant to the workplace, preparing them for the industry apprenticeship component of the programme.The course will be the same as the ‘AI for All’ course already introduced as a skill enhancement course (SEC) for non-AEDP students in the second semester. The department has asked institutions to make the necessary academic and administrative arrangements, communicate the instructions to the sections concerned and ensure implementation during the current academic session.The move comes as the state expands AEDP, an employment-oriented undergraduate programme that combines conventional academic learning with industry-linked apprenticeship training.Last month, the department launched the course in collaboration with NASSCOM, through which over one lakh students in higher education and faculty statewide would be trained in AI courses online.The AEDP programme that was introduced in the last academic session in 31 higher education institutions offering two subjects was expanded to 81 institutions offering 11 subjects in 2026-27. The subjects include commerce, home science, economics, history, English, zoology, mathematics, library science, chemistry, geology and botany. The state has also targeted bringing at least 10,000 undergraduate students under apprenticeship, internship and community-engagement initiatives in the current academic session.Under AEDP, students pursue two years of academic learning followed by a year of apprenticeship training. The programme is designed to give them practical workplace experience alongside their degree, with a stipend during the apprenticeship period.The department has been taking steps to ensure that the employment-oriented structure does not restrict students’ higher education prospects. In Aug, it directed universities and autonomous colleges to facilitate additional subject options through multidisciplinary and skill enhancement courses, addressing subject requirements for postgraduate studies and competitive examinations.“The introduction of AI as a value-added course is another step towards aligning undergraduate education with changing workplace requirements,” Mohapatra said.