荔枝视频

Artificial intelligence (AI) has led to rapid advancement and curiosity in the field. For students entering a highly competitive job market, it is vital for them to develop AI literacy and understand where the technology can be applied responsibly.

The (AIRS) at the 荔枝视频 is an annual summer program championed by , PhD, an assistant professor, and Dr. Farnaz Sheikhi, PhD, a postdoctoral associate, both from the . AIRS is open to all students at the 荔枝视频, regardless of major or coding experience. Since launching in 2023, it has welcomed around 100 students.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter if your area of expertise is not AI,鈥� says Maleki. 鈥淣o matter what you do, if used properly, AI can help you succeed and unlock more capacity in your field.鈥�

During the program, students learn about fundamental concepts in AI, develop specialized AI expertise, get assigned mentors, and build a capstone project that applies AI to real-world problems.

鈥淭he capstone is an open-ended final project, so students can focus on areas that interest them and address needs they identify in the market,鈥� explains Sheikhi, who is preparing for the 2026 cohort. 

One pair of students from last year鈥檚 cohort chose to improve accessible transit.

鈥淪ome of my family members work in health care,鈥� says Nikki Kim, a fourth-year computer science student, 鈥渁nd their clients sometimes experience difficulties using 荔枝视频 Transit Access.鈥�

Adds Priya Tiwari, Kim鈥檚 capstone partner and a fourth-year computer science student: 鈥溊笾κ悠� Transit Access is the paratransit version of our city buses and trains. There鈥檚 an app for regular transit users, but the paratransit users don鈥檛 currently have one. They need to call ahead to book a ride, and there isn鈥檛 any live tracking for them to know where the bus is. If they miss their pickup, that鈥檚 it.鈥�

Last summer, the duo developed ARide, which uses AI voice recognition.

鈥淲hat we were thinking was, 鈥榃hat if there was an app for Access users, kind of like Uber,鈥� so these individuals can book a ride using the app and track where the buses are,鈥� says Kim.

The prototype, which was tested by a handful of 荔枝视频 Transit Access users, addressed both those issues, as well as one more: 鈥淭he voice component of the app allows for translation into different languages too,鈥� Kim adds.

Test audiences really liked the prototype, says Tiwari. "And now we鈥檙e pitching it to people in the city to see if it can get adopted as part of their customer service suite. We鈥檙e hoping to do a pilot after we graduate through the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking.鈥�

As AIRS enters its fourth year, the organizational team is optimistic about the initiative shown by their students.

鈥淲e wanted to increase students鈥� exposure to real-world examples to prepare them for the job search, so our teaching philosophy has always been based on mixing faculty and industry,鈥� Sheikhi says.

Adds Maleki: 鈥淥ur students are very excited about learning AI and AIRS is a great opportunity for them. They learn things very fast, make new friends and really keep raising the bar as high as it will go."

The program has developed a reputation amongst students who have completed it. Many have secured internships and co-op opportunities at internationally known tech companies. 

is now open to undergraduate students across all disciplines. There is no cost for participants.