The University of Florida is growing interest in artificial intelligence from classrooms to campus events.
Starting Thursday, UF will host its first AI Days to showcase how it is building an AI-focused university. The event comes as UF integrates AI into its curriculum, giving students options to develop AI-related skills and prepare for the workforce.
said David Reed, Vice President and Director of Strategic Initiatives. of UF’s Artificial Intelligence Academic Initiative Center.
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According to Reed, everyday examples of AI include unlocking iPhones with facial recognition and the technology used in Amazon Alexa devices.
UF’s first AI Days will take place October 26-28, and students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in an AI-focused event.
An AI Pitch Contest will be held on October 27th, where students can launch AI-focused businesses. His 1st place winner in the pitch contest has a chance to win up to $12,000, 2nd place winner can win $8,000, and 3rd place winner can win $5,000.
The next day, the AI Days Hackathon will see UF students form teams to build software applications that solve social problems such as poverty, education, and gender inequality.
AI Days also provides an opportunity for UF to welcome new AI faculty and provide students with opportunities to learn about research and teaching initiatives.
In an interview with The Gainesville Sun, Reed said UF currently has more than 230 AI courses, with more than 6,000 students taking courses within UF. Additionally, at UF he has 110 new faculty hires in all 16 universities in the field of AI.
For students interested in learning more about AI, UF has an AI Fundamentals course open to all students. This course is a stepping stone for students to earn an AI certification.
After the AI Fundamentals course, students can take Ethics, Data, and Technology courses, followed by AI classes that are part of their major. If the student is a business major, they can enroll in the Fundamentals of Business Analytics and Artificial Intelligence.
“Besides that, we started by working with the thousands of companies that employ our graduates to discuss how they will change in a year or two. It’s going to come out of no other university,” says Reid.
He said the certification shows that students understand the basics behind AI, making them more competitive in the job market.
AI Fundamentals course instructor Diego Alvarado said:
More than 300 students have enrolled for AI certification through the course, Alvarado said. He said the course began in 2020 after UF was given a supercomputer by Nvidia, a Silicon Valley-based technology company.
Computer Science Engineering fourth-year Fatima Elfasi says she’s always been interested in technology. When she transferred from her college in Santa Fe to the University of Florida in 2020, all of her on-campus chatter centered around her AI initiative at the University of Florida, she said.
“It’s the future, so it’s pretty cool… It’s really exciting to be at the forefront and meet both leaders in the AI community and students learning about AI and how to implement it in all aspects of our world.” ‘ said Elfasi.
Gershon Harrell is an educational reporter for The Gainesville Sun. He can be reached by calling (352) 338-3166, emailing Gharrell@gannett.com, or on his Twitter at: @GershonReports.
