The AI4Good Lab is happy to announce 90 trainees to the 2023 cohort, which has tripled in size since 2020. This initiative to make AI education more inclusive will be represented across 7 provinces and 29 universities as part of its commitment to the pan-Canadian AI strategy to increase training in AI across the country.
This is the first year that Mila - Quebec AI Institute is running operations and the Montréal program following AI4GoodLab’s integration in January.
This year, the program will be delivered online and in person in 3 Canadian cities: Montréal at Mila, Edmonton, in partnership with Amii and Toronto, in partnership with CIFAR and Vector Institute with in-kind contribution from the Design Fabrication Zone (DFZ) at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Lectures and workshops will be delivered online, group projects and study sessions will be in-person and networking will be in-person and virtual depending on the event. In-person activities will happen at Mila, Amii, and DFZ for their respective cohorts.
Our applicants, located across Canada, are women and people whose genders are underrepresented in the AI industry. The interest that candidates express each year reaffirms our mission in widening access to education and professional networks in AI. After the program, the 2023 cohort will join our network of over 250 alumni across Canada who are pushing the frontiers of AI forward with their optimism for a more inclusive and sustainable future.
“The inclusion and participation of women and other underrepresented groups in the development and deployment of AI is one of our finest and greatest ambitions. Running operations of the AI4Good Lab within our Institute allows us to propel this promising program and to develop new talents within a rich community of researchers and specialists.”
— Valérie Pisano, President and CEO of Mila
During the 7-week program, trainees will attend a variety of educational and networking events. They will learn the foundations of machine learning from researchers and professors at prominent Canadian universities.
Trainees will then dive into the real-life applications of AI with our guest speakers, and explore their career options at Industry Night. During the project weeks, TAs and mentors will help guide trainees to develop their own machine-learning projects.
We make sure that social good is the central theme of every event, workshop, and project at the Lab.
Congratulations to the 90 trainees selected across three cohorts (Toronto, Montréal, and Edmonton). We’re looking forward to a collaborative and inspiring summer!
“The AI4Good Lab encompasses everything I find enthralling about technology: dynamism, youthfulness, a purposeful growth mindset breaking the old-school barriers of elitism and conformism, and a women+-focused initiative. This program is crucial in providing a supportive and inclusive environment that is imperative to counterbalancing the underrepresentation and discrimination that women of color like me may face in the tech industry.”
— Kenza Battah, Montréal cohort