Students Confront Difficult Challenges During AI Immersion Week
Enhancing AI Skills at Northeastern University
Engaging Learning Experience
During spring break, 14 graduate students from Northeastern University embarked on an exciting journey, immersing themselves in Artificial Intelligence (AI) studies. Instead of a typical vacation, these students dug into various aspects of AI, such as its implications in business and hands-on experience with AI technology.
Collaboration Between Campuses
Students traveled between the Seattle and Silicon Valley campuses, participating in various industry panels and a hack-a-thon. This unique opportunity aimed to enhance their skills through direct engagement with professionals and innovative challenges.
Focus on Skill-Building
The primary objective of this immersion week was to enhance students’ practical skills. The hack-a-thon, in particular, encouraged students at the Silicon Valley campus to create AI agents using Agentforce, a cutting-edge software developed by Salesforce. An AI agent can interpret data and perform tasks without human intervention, representing a significant leap in technology.
Hands-On Learning:
- Developing AI-powered agents
- Engaging with industry professionals
- Participating in workshops and discussions
Tackling the Hack-a-Thon
The hack-a-thon was an intense yet rewarding experience. Harshika Santoshi, a data science master’s student, emphasized the learning opportunities presented by the hack-a-thon. Her team designed an AI-integrated invoice fraud detection system as part of the challenge. To prepare, students attended workshops led by Cur, Carlson, a business professor at Northeastern, focusing on refining product ideas before developing them further.
Key Takeaways:
- Importance of product idea evaluation
- The challenge of working with new software
- Experiences shared with peers and mentors
Problems and Solutions
While working on their projects, students faced challenges with the Agentforce software. Issues like difficulty loading images and documents hindered their progress. However, this experience underscored the importance of documenting their work and seeking help when needed. Surya Shivam, a graduate student, noted that better documentation could have expedited their project submission.
Industry Insights at Salesforce Conference
Following the hack-a-thon, participants attended the Salesforce TDX conference, an event that gathered seasoned software developers and IT leaders. Students attended workshops on Agentforce, noting how the immersive week prepared them to engage confidently with professionals in the field.
Networking Opportunities:
- Connecting with industry leaders
- Learning from real-world applications of AI
- Gaining insights into career paths in technology
Learning from Industry Experts in Seattle
Meanwhile, students who visited Seattle’s industry partners gained valuable insights into AI’s role within corporate and startup environments. They attended a workshop with Pioneer Square Labs, which explained how they evaluate potential business ideas for investment. This experience was particularly eye-opening for students like Jenny Huang, who has a finance background and is pursuing a master’s in computer science.
Activities Included:
- Understanding venture capital processes
- Learning evaluation criteria for successful AI products
- Building industry connections
Workshops on Generative AI and Prompt Engineering
A workshop by Amazon Web Services titled “Demystifying Generative AI” provided students with foundational knowledge on AI’s historical and theoretical development. Students explored key concepts like machine learning, deep learning, and the evolution of generative AI.
Another workshop led by Professor Ram Hariharan offered insights into prompt engineering, showcasing how different techniques can improve AI interactions. Students learned about various methods, including basic prompting, few-shot prompting, and advanced techniques like ReAct prompting.
Overall, this unique immersion week at Northeastern University not only enhanced their technical skills but also equipped students with the necessary confidence and network to pursue careers in AI.
