Milan Simic

Petlja Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2017 in Serbia, dedicated to advancing computational thinking and digital literacy among younger generations to prepare them for the evolving demands of the future labor market. We believe computational thinking is crucial because it equips individuals to break down complex problems, detect patterns, abstract, automate, and innovate across disciplines. Petlja supports formal education by providing free, interactive online courses aligned with Serbia's primary and secondary school curricula for ICT subjects, including tools for teachers to monitor progress and integrate with platforms like Moodle. We host official programming competitions with automated grading on our platform, enabling fair assessments and skill-building for thousands of students in specialized IT programs. Additionally, our accredited teacher training programs by the Ministry of Education enhance educators' abilities to deliver up-to-date content. Beyond formal settings, Petlja promotes informal learning through initiatives like the annual rasPETLJAvanje online program for ages 11-18, offering free problem-solving challenges to spark interest in programming. We organize free summer programming schools for 100 students each year, and many workshops that encourage collaboration and creativity. Petlja leads in AI innovation for education, piloting an AI Assistant that automates lesson planning, content creation, and progress tracking to reduce teacher workloads and boost classroom engagement. Our AI Instructor Program delivers hands-on online courses integrating AI into problem-solving, emphasizing practical skills over theory to build digital competencies. We're also advancing the AI Sparring Partner for role-playing simulations to hone teachers' soft skills like communication, alongside efforts to fine-tune language models for Serbian educational contexts, ensuring equitable AI access. We partner with UNDP, UNICEF, policy makers and many IT companies.