HP has signed an agreement with Dukes Education to bring its NOVA AI fellowship to teachers across the group's more than 80 settings in the UK and Europe, putting a structured AI capability programme into an organisation that educates more than 24,000 pupils. Mayank Dhingra, Director and Global Head of Education Business and Strategy at HP, announced the deal on LinkedIn, describing it as "A new chapter for AI in education."
The initiative will focus on building teacher judgement with AI, not on treating the technology as a classroom gadget. Dhingra said the aim is "not AI as a gadget bolted onto the classroom, but AI in the hands of educators who know exactly when to use it - and when the human moment matters more." The programme, called Nurturing Outstanding Visionaries in AI (NOVA), is designed to support educators as schools adapt to the technology. "Building AI capacity. Preserving the human art of teaching. That's the goal and the promise," Dhingra wrote.
The fellowship's focus on teacher-led AI use reflects a wider push to develop AI fluency among school staff without replacing classroom practice. For educators seeking structured development beyond a single programme, an AI Learning Path for Teachers offers a similar emphasis on practical, judgement-driven skills.
Dukes scale gives HP a school group rollout
Dukes Education is a group of nurseries, schools, colleges and education consultancies operating across 11 countries. Launched in 2015, it has grown to 63 education brands and nearly 5,000 staff. Dhingra called it "the largest private school operator in the UK" and said the group "sits in the top 2% nationally at A-level for value-added - a measure not of who they admit, but of how far they take every child."
The agreement extends the NOVA fellowship into a network with a cradle-to-career model that spans early years, schools, summer courses, university application support and medical school consultancies. HP's education portfolio already includes more than 15 AI and digital skilling programmes for learners, educators and policymakers, and this deal adds a large school group to that footprint.
Why this matters for education professionals
For school leaders, CPD coordinators and classroom teachers, the HP-Dukes deal signals that large school groups are investing in AI training that centres on professional judgement rather than automation. Teachers working in similar networks can expect more programmes that ask them to decide where AI helps and where the human interaction remains non-negotiable. The broader AI for Education field is producing a range of resources, but this fellowship's explicit focus on "amplify, never replace" offers a concrete model for what teacher development in AI might look like at scale.
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