Tajikistan has launched AI Start, a free online course introducing artificial intelligence in Tajik and Russian. The course is the first offering under the AI Nation initiative and is available on the AI Academy platform.
The initiative aims to make artificial intelligence accessible to people across Tajikistan, regardless of their profession or previous experience with technology.
Area AI and zypl.ai have set a shared goal of training 1,000 AI specialists in Tajikistan over the next 10 years. AI Start is designed to help beginners take their first steps toward that goal.
What does the course offer?
The program consists of 24 lessons covering the basics of artificial intelligence, how AI systems learn from data, and how modern AI tools and language models work.
Participants will learn to formulate tasks for AI, write effective prompts, evaluate responses, identify errors and verify information. The course also covers the safe and responsible use of AI and introduces the Soro language model through practical exercises.
The course is available online in Tajik and Russian and can be completed on a smartphone or computer at any time. The platform saves participants’ progress, allowing them to resume their studies whenever convenient.
Lessons feature short, card-based materials, clear examples, practical assignments and interactive simulators. Knowledge checks help participants reinforce what they have learned.
To complete the course, participants must develop a project demonstrating how they can use AI to solve a task of their choice and pass a 30-question exam. Programming skills are not required. Successful participants receive a certificate.
The course is intended for people aged 14 and older, including schoolchildren, students, teachers and professionals from different fields who want to use AI in their studies, work and daily lives.
Supporting Tajikistan’s AI development
AI Nation is intended to support the implementation of Tajikistan’s Artificial Intelligence Development Strategy through 2040, adopted on the initiative of President Emomali Rahmon.
In April 2025, Rustam Emomali, speaker of the Majlisi Milli, Tajikistan’s upper chamber of parliament, and mayor of Dushanbe, called for expanded educational opportunities in artificial intelligence during the opening of an IT park in the capital.
AI Start was developed by zypl.ai, a member of the Area AI consortium, in cooperation with the Artificial Intelligence Council under Tajikistan’s Ministry of Industry and New Technologies.
The introductory course is the first stage of the AI Academy program. Participants will be able to continue their studies through more advanced learning tracks as they become available on the platform.