The Silicon Valley Leadership Group Foundation (SVLGF) has announced a new initiative to develop an innovative AI and machine learning curriculum for community colleges in the greater Bay Area. SVLGF will hire two fellows to create the curriculum with support from the Deloitte Foundation. SVLGF will collaborate with the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District on its first-ever AI Fellowship Program, which aims to help prepare a diverse workforce for the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence that is expected to shape California’s innovation economy.
Through this program, two graduate researchers from SVLG’s Institute for California AI Policy (I-CAP) will spearhead the development of a new STEM curriculum focused on AI and machine learning. These fellows will collaborate closely with educators at Foothill College and DeAnza College to implement the curriculum during the 2024-2025 academic year.
The program’s objectives are twofold:
- Create a cutting-edge AI curriculum tailored for community college students. The PhD fellows will work with community college deans, faculty, and staff to develop and implement the AI curriculum. This collaboration helps to ensure that the program aligns with the colleges’ academic standards and addresses the specific needs of their diverse student populations.
- Produce a comprehensive white paper to help other schools across California replicate the approach. Produced as part of the fellowship initiative, the white paper will serve as a valuable resource for other educational institutions across California looking to implement similar AI and machine learning curricula. This document will detail the process, and best practices developed during the program’s implementation at Foothill College and DeAnza College.
By focusing on community colleges in the Bay Area, this initiative aims to bridge the gap in AI education and help provide equitable access to skills that will likely be crucial for success in an AI-driven innovation economy.
The I-CAP AI Fellowship Program builds upon SVLGF’s successful efforts to facilitate company-college collaborations since 2018 to reskill and upskill thousands of students in various technical fields. This new AI-focused curriculum will further enhance these efforts, helping students from diverse backgrounds to be well-prepared for the evolving job market.
Announced in December 2023, I-CAP’s mission is to help facilitate public-private partnerships needed for developing policy and regulatory AI solutions that are informed, balanced, responsible, and effective through the convening of educators, policymakers, and industry leaders.
As breakthrough AI technology continues to reshape industries and create new opportunities, initiatives like this will play a vital role in developing a skilled and diverse workforce across the Golden State. I-CAP’s first-ever AI Fellowship Program demonstrates a commitment to inclusive AI education and workforce development in Silicon Valley that prepares the next generation of students for the innovation economy.
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