Deadline: August 5, 2026
Applications are open for the Google News Initiative AI Skills Program 2.0. Following the success of the inaugural edition that was launched in 2025, the AI Skills Program returns with a stronger focus: helping participants – editors, journalists, newsroom managers and media professionals across private and government media sector – move beyond simply using AI tools and towards building AI-powered newsroom apps, solutions and dashboards, understanding how AI agents can support newsroom workflows, and creating AI-powered workflows that make newsrooms more productive and efficient.
AI Skills Program 2.0 is designed to help participants:
- Master Google’s latest AI tools for journalism
- Learn practical AI workflows that can be adopted immediately
- Build AI-powered newsroom applications
- Improve productivity across reporting, editing, research and production
- Receive expert mentoring while implementing AI in real newsroom settings
The program combines an intensive two-day in-person workshop in Delhi-NCR(AI Design Lab) with 5 online sessions with expert-led one-on-one mentoring (one hour per week) to facilitate hands-on app building using vibe coding. Participants leave not just with an understanding of AI tools, but with practical workflows and AI-powered solutions they can begin using in their newsrooms.
Benefits
The program will explore how AI can support:
- Story research and information synthesis
- Reporting and story discovery
- Document analysis
- Content creation and editing
- Newsroom productivity
- Vibe coding to build AI-powered applications (No coding experience required)
- Understanding AI agents and how they can be applied to newsroom workflows
Participants will gain hands-on experience with Google AI tools including:
- Gemini
- AI Studio
- Notebook
- Veo
- Flow
- Stitch
- SynthID
Eligibility
- Applications are invited from journalists, editors, newsroom leaders, social media teams, visual journalists, digital publishers.
- Applicants should be actively working with a newsroom and should be interested in integrating AI into editorial workflows.
- Applicants should have at least 10 years of professional experience in a newsroom or media organisation registered in India and be keen to champion AI adoption within their organisation.
- Applicants must be actively working with an eligible news organisation that has an operational news website or YouTube channel, has been producing original news content continuously for at least 24 months, and publishes content on topics such as general news, sports, health, finance or entertainment.
- Eligible organisations include for-profit and non-profit news organisations across print, digital, television and radio.
- Applicants must be able to dedicate 4 hours per week to the program for training sessions and project work.
- Training outcome: Applicants will be expected to complete at least one capstone project using the AI tools covered during the program (for example, an AI-powered app for newsroom workflows).
- Prior experience using AI tools is desirable, but nor mandatory.
- Prior experience in data journalism is a plus.
- Applicants must be able to attend the two-day in-person workshop in Delhi-NCR – AI Design Lab, participate in all online sessions over six weeks, and commit the required time each week for both training and their capstone project. Apply only if you are able to commit to the full program.
Application
They have only 50 seats available, so apply now. Participants will be selected on a rolling basis.
For more information, visit Google News Initiative AI Skills Program 2.0.
