Artificial intelligence is creating a huge amount of buzz and is becoming integral to innovation
The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) is partnering with giant technology company Intel to launch the first artificial intelligence (AI) degree in the US. This associate degree program was fully designed by Intel, and the Arizona Commerce Authority will also give $100,000 to the college to support this program. This new project will offer thousands of students a high-tech career that can get them a job in the healthcare, automotive, industrial and aerospace industries.
“We strongly believe AI technology should be shaped by many voices representing different experiences and backgrounds. Community colleges offer the opportunity to expand and diversify AI since they attract a diverse array of students with a variety of backgrounds and expertise. Intel is committed to partnering with educational institutions to expand access to technology skills needed for current and future jobs,” said Gregory Bryant, Intel executive vice president and general manager of the Client Computing Group.
MCCCD is based in Tempe, Arizona, where the largest community college district in the US is found. It is estimated that there are over 100,000 students across the ten campuses, and there are at least 10,000 faculty and staff members. This program will offer courses that were developed by MCCCD faculty as well as Intel leaders based on proprietary software tools, such as the Intel Distribution of Open VINO Toolkit and Intel Python. Also, Intel will provide technical advice, faculty training, summer internships and even Intel mentors for both students and faculty members. Some of the skills the students can acquire in this program are data collection, AI model training, coding and exploration of AI’s impact in the society.
