Campus Technology Insider Podcast June 2024
Antonio Delgado 22:38
So the moment that we developed these degrees, at the same time, we were developing physical spaces where you can actually have the technology that you need. And this is expensive technology, again, not everyone will be able to do it at home at the level of the course, the advanced courses that we have. So we created the space where, starting with equipment and technology that is required, really, to make it equitable and accessible to everyone. So this is not an exclusive program for those that have the resources at home. Actually, this is the most affordable program ever to study artificial intelligence, and we provide the resources. If you don't have them at home, you, the AI centers exist to give you that access to technology, and also as an incubator of those projects with robotics tools and makerspaces and really critical, like, thinking and design to help you create the projects that you can develop as part of these programs. But quickly, these spaces grew from just being these advanced classrooms to become a hub for artificial intelligence for the community. Because automatically, again, we were working on this before ChatGPT, but then when ChatGPT happened, everyone wanted to learn more about AI, and, and everyone was desperate to understand what was happening. So we, this is, this space was quickly transformed into a meaningful space where events were happening: webinars, info sessions, speakers, and engagement workshops. And it's incredible, like the engagement from so many different perspectives. One quick example: Small businesses, they're desperate to learn about AI, to adopt AI, to use it, but they might lack the technical expertise to do it. So when we do workshops for small businesses or roundtables, is like, is, over 100 people showing up, business owners looking for solutions on, how can I really integrate AI in my, in my, in my own small business? So this is just an example on how the centers became the epicenter for everything about AI, not just classes and projects from students, but actually companies coming to learn about AI, to find talent on AI, to discuss AI, events happening around these topics. So really, the events are having actually the same amount of classes than events, and they're actively being used for both purposes, to combine that synergy of academia with the industry and the reality of what's happening today. So they are becoming this connecting point between both worlds, where really, that's how you advance, and that's how you get into evolve your local community from a business perspective, but also to create pipelines of talent coming out of education into the workforce. And at the end, by the way, most of the pro, most of the students in the program right now, they're coming not necessarily out of high school or even college students. Those are adult learners that are coming back to learn AI. So it's really the AI centers become that space where at all learners and working professionals learn about what's happening, and they come to learn about AI at the point that 60% of the participants in the program, again, over 700 they are above 31 years old, and the largest bracket is above 41 years old. And this is incredible, for a brand new program to have, you know, 33% of your population in the program to be above 41 years old is incredible. It's a great opportunity for everyone to really learn about AI and understand how it works. So we're excited that the AI centers are playing that role and connecting the community with everything that we're doing.
Rhea Kelly 26:30
I love that idea of creating a space that brings people together around AI.
Antonio Delgado 26:36
Yeah, and I mentioned centers because it's not just one. We have eight campuses across Miami. We started with an AI center in one of the campuses, but we really realized, like geographic location matters in terms of attracting your local community. And we are now at three AI centers at the three largest campuses in North, Central, and South Miami: In the three locations we have now centers that really are not necessarily exactly the same, but they complement each other from different usage or technology and resources, and they're serving their local community with all these events, classes, and opportunities.
Rhea Kelly 27:15
I think that's a great note to end on. So thank you so much for coming on.
Antonio Delgado 27:20
Well, thank you again for having me and excited to always continue creating the pathways for the future and share those through your podcast.
Rhea Kelly 27:33
Thank you for joining us. I'm Rhea Kelly, and this was the Campus Technology Insider podcast. You can find us on the major podcast platforms or visit us online at campustechnology.com/podcast. Let us know what you think of this episode and what you'd like to hear in the future. Until next time.