It’s a busy time for seniors and students at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts as they get ready to walk across the stage and apply for jobs.
Muhammed Yosef is a graduate student studying computer science. “I built my portfolio using an AI tool. This will come in handy when applying for jobs,” he said.
Over the past year, he has spent a lot of time participating in BSU’s Center for Artificial Intelligence, which opened last summer. It has become a leadership hub for the institution, providing guidance around the human-centered, ethical use of AI.
“We’re seeing AI being used in many different areas, so students need to acquire those skills to thrive within those fields. We’re seeing careers not only in computer science, but also in education and healthcare across the board,” said Eric LePage, assistant VP for AI and ed tech innovation.
“Very soon we will see that AI is a skill that school administrators will be looking for in teachers and we want to get ahead of that curve,” said Dr. Anne Hird, professor of secondary education at BSU.
She teaches students preparing to become public school teachers, and she says learning AI is critical.
“Right now, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is moving quickly to integrate AI requirements into elementary and secondary schools,” Hird said. “The biggest problem I see is that people who don’t use AI assume that students are cheating. That’s what we want our students to know when they go out to teach: how you’re going to use it in the assignments you give.”
Graduating senior Sam Oo is majoring in political science. He says his experience at the Center of AI, a research and innovation assistant, changed his perspective on his career path.
“I feel like consulting where I can work with multiple clients in different industries feels like the best fit for me and I feel like that suits a lot of people equipped with AI,” Oo said. “They can address any problem and problem solving and critical thinking are key here.”
Yosef says BSU’s Center for AI helped him land his internship at Metro South Chamber of Commerce, which he hopes will lead to a full-time job sometime after graduation. “I develop their toolbots for them and that’s purely the goal to now fully automate their workflow,” Yosef said. “People know that I have worked in these fields, I have set up some projects and I can actually work for them. That is my goal now.”
