Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY
National Science Foundation
Equitable Pathways to Artificial Intelligence
$49,461
06/15/2024–05/31/2027
Xiaohai Li – Computer Engineering Technology Department, City Tech
Ching-Song Wei – Principal Investigator, BMCC
Artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed the way data is analyzed to produce meaningful information and has created an unprecedented demand for trained AI technicians. The goal of this project is to develop educational and career pathways in AI through the creation of an online AI certificate program. The certificate program will provide stackable credentials and credit for prior learning, be guided by an industry advisory board, and implement national recommendations for AI education. Students will be taught using real-world projects and project-based learning. The certificate program will serve high school students, incumbent workers, and second-degree seekers and will feature enrichment activities such as industry workshops, internships, and career panels. The resulting certificate program will be the first AI certificate in the CUNY system that will prepare students to pursue careers in industry as entry-level AI technicians. Beyond its immediate objectives, the program will seek to cultivate a talent pipeline, addressing the shortage of AI technicians, diversifying the talent pool, and establishing a national model for preparing diverse students for successful AI careers. The instructional materials developed will become part of the college’s permanent course offerings. The project team will use both quantitative and qualitative measures to assess the project’s effectiveness and will use these measures to adjust the program as needed. This project will serve as a model for other academic institutions interested in developing a comprehensive program aimed to help address the shortage of well-qualified and skilled AI technicians. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation’s economy.
Northeastern Illinois University
National Science Foundation
CISE-MSI: RPEP:S&CC:Information Systems meet CUltural COmpetencies (IS-CUCO): Enabling data-driven decision-making in underserved Hispanic populations
$192,744
10/1/2021 -9/30/2025
Benito Mendoza – Computer Engineering Technology Department, City Tech
Marcelo Sztainberg – Principal Investigator, Northeastern Illinois University
The United States Department of Agriculture reported that in 2020 more than 34 million residents struggled to secure enough food to sustain an active and healthy lifestyle. Underrepresented communities, such as Hispanics in urban areas, make limited use of Information Systems (IS) when making decisions to access resources such as food. The goal of the Information Systems meets CUltural COmpetencies (IS-CUCO) project is to integrate cultural, linguistic, data, and infrastructure factors into IS that provide access to food-security services such as food pantries. The project focuses on the development of IS to increase their use by Hispanics and other underserved populations. The project members are from Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) located in communities with large Hispanic populations (New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and El Paso). IS-CUCO builds research capacity and trains the next generation of professionals who develop more inclusive IS. Key activities for the IS-CUCO project include identifying how cultural, linguistic, data, and infrastructure factors impact the use of IS by Hispanic populations and incorporating these factors into the software engineering process. The project uses an innovative community-based approach that brings together an interdisciplinary research team from the social sciences, computer science, and software engineering across HSIs serving diverse Hispanic populations. Expected outcomes include: i) knowledge base of key IS-usage factors that support the effective design of food-security IS targeting Hispanic communities; ii) software-engineering models and practices that inform development of food-security and related IS to meet the needs of diverse communities; and iii) increased capacity at the participating HSIs with respect to research, curricular, and co-curricular activities. This project can potentially transform the way organizations in urban areas address information needs of underserved populations to support their decision-making. The collaborations created in this project with local organizations will foster sustainability and adoption of the expected outcomes.