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Big Tech, Community Colleges Partnering in Education

时间:2022-12-13 03:23来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Big Tech, Community Colleges Partnering in Education

Neethi Anand Gangidi came from India to the United States to study chemical engineering. But when the Covid-19 pandemic created difficulties for her doctoral studies, she changed direction by studying artificial intelligence, or AI, at Houston Community College (HCC) in Texas.

At HCC, Gangidi and a team of students worked on a difficult problem: finding ways to help keep people safe in dangerous situations, such as school shootings. Their solution used AI to develop an autonomous1 vehicle to enter areas that are too dangerous for people. Gangidi's team won a national innovation award for their project at Intel's Global Impact Festival in San Jose, California, this year.

Gangidi is one of thousands of students involved in partnerships2 between large technology companies and community colleges in the U.S. Companies such as Dell Technologies, Intel, Google, and Amazon have developed special training programs for students. Some areas of study include artificial intelligence, data science, and user experience design.

Community colleges offer two-year associate degrees in many technical and liberal arts subjects.

The American Association of Community Colleges, or AACC, says there are 1,043 community colleges in the U.S. In the last 10 years, an average of more than 80,000 international students have attended community colleges yearly in the U.S.

The increase in AI

The use of AI, also called machine learning, is growing. AI helps computer systems do things which in the past only human beings could do, such as identify faces.

AI is commonly used in work which uses lots of data, such as banking3, supplying materials and products, and healthcare. But now other areas, such as natural language processing, also use the technology. AI is even used in artistic4 work such as music composition.

A 2021 study found that 43 percent of businesses reported increased use of AI in the last year. However, 39 percent of leaders at those companies said lack of workers with AI training was a barrier to using the technology.

Intel's AI for Workforce5 Program

In early 2020, Intel began its AI for Workforce program, which has now partnered with 74 community colleges in 32 states. Intel provides content for AI classes, AI lab design and technology, training for teachers, and practical applications for areas such as computer vision.

The company hopes to have partnerships in all 50 states by the end of 2023.

Dell Technologies has partnered with Intel to help pay for the Artificial Intelligence Incubator Network. The Network has given $40,000 grants to 10 community colleges to help build AI laboratories. The Network also supports virtual AI training and organizes monthly meetings between Dell, Intel, and community colleges to help improve AI education.

Adrienne Garber is a Senior Strategist for Higher Education at Dell Technologies. She told VOA Learning English that the AI for Workforce program gives students practical training.

"The AI for Workforce curriculum is anchored in portfolio6 projects, real-world authentic7 learning experiences, real data sets, and problems that are contributed by a community of practice."

Carlos Contreras is the director of Intel's AI for Workforce program. He noted8 that the program includes training in ethics9, making it different from other kinds of technology training. The AI training asks students to think about when it is right or wrong to use machine learning and how people should use it.

He also noted that students can begin AI training without knowing how to write computer code. He said, "This is a trend that we're seeing more and more around this technology. So, the entry point to get into AI is lower than if you want to get into, let's say, cyber-security."

While students do not need to learn how to create AI software, the training helps them use it in useful ways. For example, in Arizona, a team of three students at Maricopa Community College developed an AI model to help identify seizures11 in patients with epilepsy. Epilepsy is a disease that affects the central nervous system.

Contreras explained that students need to know how to define the problem they are working on, identify and classify the data sets they need to put into the AI computer models, and then run the models.

"And then all the sudden, I have a trained model, or my process, for the problem I'm trying to solve."

Garber, of Dell Technologies, noted that each community college can choose how it wants to use the AI for Workforce program. Instead of having one curriculum for all colleges, the program can be changed to serve the needs of each community.

"They're figuring out where in their academic pathways does this content fit. So, it might be a certificate program, it might be an associate's degree — in some cases it's a full bachelor's degree...And it is a very responsive learning content package."

Gangidi's path of study

Neethi Anand Gangidi explained to VOA Learning English some of the details of AI training at Houston Community College. Students first learn to analyze12 and organize information. Python is the software commonly used and is a starting point for classes in basic data science.

"And it is very easy for any individual from any country to learn about this. You have lots of videos on that...Just install it; download it. That's all you need. You need access. Start exploring."

Gangidi said knowledge of statistics is helpful for working with data, but that students usually do not need high level mathematics such as calculus13.

For the class, Introduction to Machine Learning, Gangidi learned how to build models to deal with a larger amount of data. She said tools from Amazon Web Services, Nvidia, and software such as Jupyter Notebook help students work with data faster and at a higher level.

HCC gave her a real data project to work on to help her use the AI training. Gangidi said that working on a real project helps students gain experience, which employers value.

Advice for students

Gangidi says students should put their effort into their passion, or strong interests, rather than being concerned about the name of the university they choose to attend in the U.S.

"It doesn't matter if you're from Stanford, or Harvard, or community college. It all depends upon each individual."

She was interested in HCC because it gave her the opportunity to work in teams on real problems, use innovation, and gain leadership experience.

She added that community colleges cost less to attend than four-year universities. In Texas, international students can also qualify for in-state tuition, the amount that someone living in the state pays to attend. This, along with scholarships, reduced her tuition costs from about $12,000 per semester to about $2,000 per semester.

In addition to Neethi Anand's team, another team of students at HCC won a global award at this year's Global Impact Festival. The team used AI to develop an autonomous drone to enter dangerous places.

Gangidi thinks there are many job opportunities for people who learn to work with data. She said, "If you know how to handle data, and if you have a passion...anything in AI, how to handle, analyze these data, and make a good story of the data—that's easy, you can land up in an AI job in any big company over there."

Words in This Story

doctoral –adj. related to the highest degree given for completing a course of study at a university

autonomous –adj. able to act separately under its own power

innovation –n. a new idea or device; the process of making new things

seizure10 –n. an abnormal state in which a person loses consciousness and the body moves uncontrollably

trend –n. the general movement of change

classify –v. to place something in a particular group in an effort to organize things

curriculum –n. the plan of study and a school, college or university

content –n. ideas and information in media

access –n. the ability to get or get into something

statistics –n. a mathematical field which deals with the collection, organization and understanding of numerical information


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 autonomous DPyyv     
adj.自治的;独立的
参考例句:
  • They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
  • This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。
2 partnerships ce2e6aff420d72bbf56e8077be344bc9     
n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 );合伙人身份;合作关系
参考例句:
  • Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
  • It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句
3 banking aySz20     
n.银行业,银行学,金融业
参考例句:
  • John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
  • He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。
4 artistic IeWyG     
adj.艺术(家)的,美术(家)的;善于艺术创作的
参考例句:
  • The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
  • These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。
5 workforce workforce     
n.劳动大军,劳动力
参考例句:
  • A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
  • A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。
6 portfolio 9OzxZ     
n.公事包;文件夹;大臣及部长职位
参考例句:
  • He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
  • He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。
7 authentic ZuZzs     
a.真的,真正的;可靠的,可信的,有根据的
参考例句:
  • This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
  • Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。
8 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
9 ethics Dt3zbI     
n.伦理学;伦理观,道德标准
参考例句:
  • The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
  • Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。
10 seizure FsSyO     
n.没收;占有;抵押
参考例句:
  • The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
  • The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。
11 seizures d68658a6ccfd246a0e750fdc12689d94     
n.起获( seizure的名词复数 );没收;充公;起获的赃物
参考例句:
  • Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因,有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句
12 analyze RwUzm     
vt.分析,解析 (=analyse)
参考例句:
  • We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
  • The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。
13 calculus Is9zM     
n.微积分;结石
参考例句:
  • This is a problem where calculus won't help at all.对于这一题,微积分一点也用不上。
  • After studying differential calculus you will be able to solve these mathematical problems.学了微积分之后,你们就能够解这些数学题了。
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