The start of the fall term is a great time for CS undergraduate students to explore their options for getting involved outside of their courses.
As the academic year kicks off, we asked leaders from the U of T AI student group to tell us more about two of their primary initiatives, LearnAI and ProjectX.
In this Q&A, U of T AI leaders Varun Lodaya, Isha Sharma and Kaden McKeen introduce these two opportunities and discuss the benefits that come from getting involved in co-curricular activities as a CS student.
Tell us about LearnAI and ProjectX. Why are these activities important to you and to other participants?
LearnAI is our free, introductory, extra-curricular course on machine learning that we offer to U of T undergraduates. LearnAI provides experience, knowledge, and confidence to undergraduate students; These skills & qualities can enrich their careers, research, and coursework!
ProjectX is our annual machine learning competition that allows undergraduate students from across North America to develop their own machine learning research projects over a five-month period. We provide mentors, domain experts, and some background information, and the participants take it from there! These offer participants the opportunity to undertake a full research project in machine learning — an opportunity that we found that was not accessible to students at the undergraduate level. That’s what makes this so important to us and the participants.
What have been the benefits for you of participating in ProjectX and LearnAI, in terms of your understanding of computer science and your personal or professional growth?
LearnAI improves students’ programming skills and compels them to view problem-solving in computer science differently. In feedback, students often profess a confidence boost in their abilities and teamwork skills. A student’s professional growth is ultimately up to them, but after completing LearnAI, they can pursue opportunities knowing just how capable they are.
One of those opportunities is ProjectX. Research allows you to apply existing approaches in new ways or develop something brand new — these are fundamental concepts in computer science and hands-on experience is something that is very valuable to a professional computer scientist.
What’s the relationship between the problem-solving you do as part of ProjectX or LearnAI, and the topics and assignments in your coursework?
LearnAI is lightweight, practical, and designed for anyone to reap the benefits, but it isn’t a replacement for formal education. Students have told us that the program has helped them with their coursework, especially with coding assignments and intuition – with that, they can better focus on the theory and math!
Much like LearnAI, we wanted the ProjectX experience to parallel the school experience, not replace it. While students have the opportunity to understand the basics of machine learning in our coursework, ProjectX gives them the opportunity to apply it to brand new problems that we don’t even fully know the right answers to yet — it’s very exciting!
What advice would you give to students starting in or interested in a CS program about getting involved in activities like LearnAI and ProjectX?
Take initiative! It’s good to stretch yourself and learn new skills, even if it’s a bit outside your comfort zone. This is the best way to gain experience and confidence. Learn AI is geared towards beginners and ProjectX is geared towards more advanced students, so we have something interesting for everyone. The only way you’ll know what you’re capable of is to keep testing your limits — just don’t forget the importance of time management when making commitments!
If students are interested in LearnAI or ProjectX, how can they connect with you and get involved?
All University of Toronto undergraduate students are encouraged to apply to LearnAI – deadline is October 1 and there are no technical requirements! The LearnAI 2021-2022 application form and syllabus are both available on the main page of our website. You may also reach out to us on Instagram @uoftaigroup to get more information on our fall recruitment!
If there are any lingering questions, email us at general@uoft.ai, making sure to put ‘LearnAI’ or ‘ProjectX’ in the subject!