The Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) is expanding efforts to increase AI literacy with a new scholarship program aimed at environmental and atmospheric science students.
“Our CEO [Cam Linke] often talks about the people in the work of tomorrow needing to be bilingual. What he means is that you need to be an expert in your domain, and an expert in AI.”
Dubbed AI for Earth, the scholarship is open nationwide to any Canadian post-secondary student studying environmental science, meteorology, or a related field. Amii is accepting applications until the end of February, with scholarships awarded in March.
With 750 spots available, the program offers fully funded access to AI literacy training tailored to the field of environmental and atmospheric science. It was developed in conjunction with Environment and Climate Change Canada, and based on Amii’s existing AI Literacy for Everyone platform.
“We have these [AI literacy] workshops, and what we’re doing is customizing them for this specific audience,” said Adam Danyleyko, the product owner for Amii’s training team.
Officially called Artificial Intelligence Literacy Foundations: Environmental Sciences and Meteorology Pre-Professional Development, the course includes both a focus on the basics of AI and its application in the context of meteorological and environmental science work.
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Funding the program is a joint venture between Amii and Environment and Climate Change Canada, with the latter providing financial support toward the development of the new curriculum. It’s a partnership that Danyleyko said fits the goals of both organizations.
“It’s something they’ve identified as a need when we’re looking at ever-changing climate and weather and it becoming less predictable. How are AI models and systems going to be married with the field in order to help make better predictions for weather and environmental impacts going forward?” he said.
The partnership also helps fulfil a mandate for Amii, which has long been involved in expanding and offering AI literacy training outside the realm of tech and computer science.
“Our CEO [Cam Linke] often talks about the people in the work of tomorrow needing to be bilingual. What he means is that you need to be an expert in your domain, and an expert in AI,” Danyleyko said. “This is an opportunity for us to expand into a new audience where we can help them see how AI is engaging with their work today and how it will continue to engage in the future.”
BetaKit’s Prairies reporting is funded in part by YEGAF, a not-for-profit dedicated to amplifying business stories in Alberta.
Feature image courtesy Ampersand Grey.