Durgapur, West Bengal: A particular kind of silence falls over a room when young people realise a tool they've only heard about is suddenly in front of them, waiting to be tried. That silence, followed quickly by a wave of questions, is exactly what filled a classroom at ODM International School, Durgapur, one of the most forward-looking CBSE schools in Durgapur, during a workshop on New-Age AI Tools, conducted by GITAM University under GEX.

For a generation that grew up scrolling past headlines about artificial intelligence without really touching it, this was different. This was a room where students could ask a tool to help them write, imagine, and build — and then watch it respond.

A Room Full of "Wait, It Can Do That?"
Workshops on technology can easily slip into lecture mode, but this one didn't. Facilitators from GITAM University walked students through emerging AI tools not as abstract concepts, but as things to poke at, question, and play with. Every few minutes, a small ripple of surprise moved through the room — a student discovering a tool could summarise an idea in seconds, another realising it could turn a rough sketch into something more polished.

That reaction — equal parts curiosity and disbelief — is often the first sign that real learning is happening.

Beyond the Tools: A Conversation About Tomorrow
What made the session meaningful wasn't just the tools themselves, but the questions they opened up. Students were encouraged to think about how these technologies are reshaping creativity, learning, and what work might look like a decade from now.

For some, it sparked a first spark of interest in fields they hadn't considered before. For others, it simply confirmed a suspicion they already had: that the world they're growing into will ask them to be curious, adaptable, and unafraid of change. Among CBSE schools in Durgapur, giving students this kind of early, hands-on exposure to emerging technology is becoming less of a novelty and more of a necessity.

Learning to Ask Better Questions
Perhaps the most valuable outcome of the workshop wasn't a new skill, but a new instinct — the habit of asking "how does this work?" instead of simply accepting a tool at face value. Students left the session not as passive users of technology, but as slightly more curious, slightly more critical thinkers about the tools shaping their world.

This is the quieter, harder-to-measure kind of learning that often matters most in the long run.

What They Had to Say
Sharing his experience, Aritra Sen, a Class X student at ODM International School, Durgapur, said,
"I didn't expect an AI tool to actually help me organise my own ideas better. It made me want to learn how these things really work."

Speaking about the significance of the initiative, Mr Swoyan Satyendu, CEO of ODM Educational Group, said,
"Every generation needs a moment where the future stops feeling distant and starts feeling touchable. This workshop gave our students exactly that. When curiosity meets the right exposure at the right age, it shapes how confidently a child steps into an unfamiliar world."

Carrying Curiosity Forward
Sessions like this rarely end when the workshop does. A student who leaves genuinely curious tends to keep exploring — searching a little further, asking a little more, staying a little more open to what technology can offer, and what it can't.

Among the CBSE schools in Durgapur preparing students for a world still being written, ODM International School, Durgapur's partnership with GITAM University reflects a simple belief: that the best way to prepare students for tomorrow is to let them experience a piece of it today.

About ODM International School, Durgapur
ODM International School, Durgapur is a future-focused institution committed to combining academic excellence with innovation, leadership, and holistic development. Through modern learning infrastructure, experiential programmes, and student-centric teaching, the school nurtures confident, compassionate, and future-ready learners prepared to excel at every stage of life.

More Details Visit: https://odminternationalschool.org/durgapur/