AskSia Inc. is running the AskSia AI Literacy Scholarship 2026: two awards of USD 1,500 each, open to students in every field of study and to applicants worldwide, including Indian students studying in India or abroad. There is no country list and no subject list – the winners are chosen on one 800 to 1,000 word essay.
The deadline is 31 December 2026, 11:59 PM UTC. Applications are a single email with four PDFs, and the scholarship does not require you to be an AskSia user: no account, purchase or product use is needed to apply or to win. The money is paid to your institution, not to you.
AskSia AI Literacy Scholarship 2026: quick facts
Quick facts2026-27
| Scholarship from | AskSia Inc., an AI study-tool company (scholarship founded 2026, awarded annually) |
| Study level | Any – school leavers with a confirmed offer, undergraduates and postgraduates |
| Award value | USD 1,500 each, paid in two instalments of USD 750 directly to your institution and credited against tuition or other qualified educational costs |
| Number of awards | Two per year |
| Who can apply | Anyone 17 or older enrolled at, or holding a confirmed offer from, an accredited institution, with a cumulative average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (or the recognised equivalent); all fields, all countries |
| Last date to apply | 31 December 2026, 11:59 PM UTC (late or incomplete applications are not reviewed) |
| Official website | asksia.ai – AskSia AI Literacy Scholarship |
What the award is worth and how it is paid
Each of the two awards is USD 1,500, and it is not handed to the student. The programme pays in two instalments of USD 750, both sent directly to the recipient’s institution and credited against tuition or other qualified educational costs. The second instalment is released only after the institution confirms continued enrolment.
That structure matters when you plan your budget: the award reduces your bill, it does not arrive as cash in your bank account. Before the first instalment is paid, recipients must supply an official transcript or registrar confirmation – an unofficial transcript is enough at application stage, but not at payment stage.
Who is eligible
The eligibility bar is deliberately broad. You can apply if all of the following is true:
- You are enrolled at, or hold a confirmed offer from, an accredited institution – the scholarship is not restricted to one country or one degree level.
- You are 17 or older when you apply.
- Your cumulative average is 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, or the recognised equivalent in your system. Indian applicants can submit a percentage-to-GPA equivalence where their institution uses one.
- You write one original essay of 800 to 1,000 words in English on one of the three set questions.
- You have not won this scholarship before – past recipients may not reapply, and only one application per applicant per cycle is allowed.
Employees of AskSia and their immediate families are excluded. Nothing else is: the programme states that no account, purchase or prior use of an AskSia product is needed, that using the product will not improve your chances, and that reviewers cannot see whether an applicant is a user.
The three essay questions
You pick one question and answer it in 800 to 1,000 words. The programme says there is no advantage in choosing one over another:
- Where the line sits: an AI tool can explain a concept, check reasoning, draft an outline or produce finished work. Where should the line fall between legitimate academic support and academic dishonesty, and who should decide? Argue a specific position and take on the strongest objection to it.
- What changed in your own studying: describe one concrete change in how you study that came from using AI tools, and assess it honestly – what you gained, what you lost, what you would tell a student one year behind you.
- What is worth learning yourself: pick one specific skill from your field and argue whether students should still build it without AI help, and how you would tell that kind of skill apart from one that can be delegated.
On AI use in the essay itself: grammar and spelling checks are allowed. An essay whose argument or structure was produced by an AI system, or written by someone else, ends the application. AskSia says it runs no AI detectors at any stage – instead, shortlisted applicants are asked to talk through their own essay on a short video call.
Documents you need and how to send them
Everything goes by email to [email protected] in one message, with the subject line 2026 AskSia Scholarship Application-Full Name. Four PDFs must be attached:
- The application form, completed and saved as a PDF (downloadable from the scholarship page).
- Your essay, as a separate PDF.
- A transcript showing your current standing – official or unofficial, including a PDF exported from your student portal, as long as it shows your full name, your institution’s name and your cumulative standing.
- One recommendation letter from a teacher, faculty member, advisor, counsellor or community leader, sent from that person’s institutional email address.
Name the files FullName-Form.pdf, FullName-Essay.pdf, FullName-Transcript.pdf and FullName-Recommendation.pdf. You should receive an automatic confirmation within one hour; if it does not arrive, the subject line is probably wrong, so fix it and send again. The essay and form must be in English; transcripts and letters may be in any language with a translation attached, and your own translation is acceptable.
How applications are scored
Two reviewers read every application independently and score it out of 100. If their totals differ by more than twenty points, a third reviewer settles it, and the first round is read blind – names and institutions are removed. The weighting is fixed:
- Originality of thought – 40 points. An argument you reached yourself, real engagement with the counterargument, and reasoning that goes past restating common positions.
- Written expression – 20 points. Clear structure, precise language, an argument a reader can follow and disagree with.
- Financial need – 20 points. Your own account of your circumstances; supporting documents are welcome but not required.
- Academic record – 20 points. Cumulative standing, relevant coursework and what your recommendation letter actually says.
Some extra weight, though not a requirement, goes to applicants studying education, learning sciences, cognitive science, computer science or AI, and to applicants who are the first in their family to attend university. Every field remains eligible.
Timeline for the 2026 cycle
- 3 August 2026: applications opened and the form and terms were published.
- Rolling: AskSia writes to each recommender within two working days of your application arriving, not after the deadline – applying early means that step is settled well before review starts.
- 31 December 2026, 11:59 PM UTC: deadline. Late or incomplete applications are not reviewed.
- 1 to 15 January 2027: blind reading, two readers per essay.
- 16 to 22 January 2027: shortlist interviews – a short video call where you talk through your own argument, including its weakest point.
- 23 January 2027: the two recipients are told privately and have seven days to accept.
- 31 January 2027: everyone else is notified and recipients are announced; the 2027 cycle opens the same day.
If no application meets the standard in a given year, the programme says so on its site and carries the money forward – so the two awards are not guaranteed to be given out. The first instalment is paid within 30 days of your term starting, once the official transcript or registrar confirmation is in.
Frequently asked questions
31 December 2026 at 11:59 PM UTC. Applications that arrive late, or that are missing one of the four documents, are not reviewed at all.
USD 1,500 per recipient, two recipients a year, paid in two instalments of USD 750. Both instalments go directly to your institution against tuition or other qualified educational costs, never to you personally.
Yes. The scholarship is open worldwide with no country list, all fields of study are eligible, and Indian students can apply from an Indian institution or from a confirmed offer abroad. The only bar is being 17 or older with a 3.0 out of 4.0 cumulative average, or its equivalent.
No. AskSia states that no account, purchase, subscription or prior use of its product is required, that using it does not improve your chances, and that reviewers cannot see whether an applicant is a user. Applying is free.
No, at no stage. Originality is judged by human readers, and shortlisted applicants are asked to discuss their own essay on a short video call. Grammar and spelling tools are allowed; having an AI produce the argument, structure or text ends the application.
800 to 1,000 words in English, answering one of three set questions about AI and learning. It does not have to be about computer science – the programme says the questions are often easier to answer well from inside a specific discipline.
Recipients are told privately on 23 January 2027 and announced on 31 January 2027, the same day every other applicant is notified by email.
Official links
Related reading: AskSia AI Literacy Scholarship – programme page, form and full terms
AskSia study tools (not required to apply)
Internal reading: if you are also applying to university-funded awards, compare this with the University of Twente Scholarship, the Leiden University Excellence Scholarship and the UBC International Scholars Program. Browse all study abroad scholarships, international scholarships and graduation scholarships.
Related scholarship posts
- University of Twente Scholarship 2027: EUR 3,000 to 22,000 for master’s students
- Leiden University Excellence Scholarship 2027: EUR 10,000 to EUR 19,000, apply by 1 December
- UBC International Scholars Program: full-ride awards for international students