December News: AI Week, ML Tech Certification & We're Hiring!

Hi there,

With December in full swing, we're sure you're spending your time like many of us: preparing for the holiday break and setting yourself up for a successful start in 2022!

As we approach the new year, we're taking some time to reflect on the past twelve months and dream up some big plans for the coming year. While our teams will be taking a hard-earned break between Christmas and New Year's, keep an eye on our social media for our annual Best of Amii posts, featuring research, industry, training and community highlights from 2021.

Meanwhile, as you look toward 2022, be sure to save the date for AI Week, presented by Amii from May 24-27. This inaugural celebration of Alberta's AI leadership will mark our 20th anniversary and launch our bold vision for the next 20 years – and beyond.

Wondering how you can get involved?

• Join our AI Week Insider's List
• Apply to host an AI Week community event

We'll have many more exciting announcements and developments for you in the new year.

On behalf of all of us at Amii, we wish you and your loved ones happy holidays. We look forward to celebrating 20 years of AI excellence with you in 2022!

See you over video chat soon,

December Highlights: Research, Industry, Community and Training

Industry & Community Updates:

• Winners of the 2021 Start Alberta Tech Awards were recently announced! A big congrats to all of the winners, including our friends at Startup TNT, Jobber and Samdesk.
• Get to know the amazing work our sister institute Mila is doing in their 2020-2021 Impact Report!
• Wondering how AI can benefit your company? Learn the 5 ways businesses are using AI to build sustainable competitive advantages for their products and their people. 
• CIFAR recently profiled the ISL Adapt project to develop novel solutions to supply clean drinking water to the residents of Drayton Valley, Alberta -- a collaboration with the University of Alberta and Amii.
• Scale AI recently announced a $71 million investment across 12 AI-driven projects, including funding for AIoT fulfillment -- a partnership between Attabotics, Canadian Tire, Microsoft, Intel, AltaML and Amii -- to add AI to Attabotics’ innovative robotic fulfillment warehouse.

Research Updates:

• From deep reinforcement learning to controlling disinformation, check out the 15 papers presented by Amii researchers at NeurIPS 2021, held online from December 6-14.
• Russ Greiner (Fellow & Canada CIFAR AI Chair at Amii) and a team at the University of Alberta are using machine learning tools and public data to try to predict future coronavirus case numbers within a particular region.
• A multidisciplinary team out of the University of Alberta, led by music professor Michael Frishkopf and in collaboration with Osmar Zaïane (Fellow & Canada CIFAR AI Chair at Amii), is researching the use of AI-powered sound therapy in ICU wards.
• The November 12 AI Seminar featured Chenjun Xiao (University of Alberta PhD student & researcher at Google Brain), exploring the limits and possibilities of batch policy optimization in a finite-armed stochastic bandit setting.
• At Hamsa Bastani's (Assistant Professor at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania) AI Seminar on November 19, she discussed "Eva", a reinforcement-learning system trialled to limit the number of asymptomatic travellers entering Greece during the COVD-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020.

Training Updates:

• Get a crash course on AI & ML basics at ML Foundations 1 on January 20! This live online class builds foundational knowledge using real-world examples.
• Join us at our next ML Foundations 2 class on January 27! This class continues to build off of the foundational knowledge taught in ML Foundations 1, taking a closer look at technical concepts.

Amii presents AI Week

In celebration of our anniversary, Amii is proud to present AI Week! From May 24 to 27, attendees are invited to immerse themselves in the deep science of AI & ML and explore Alberta’s rich history of AI innovation.

With experiences for all ages and levels of understanding, this week-long celebration will be full of opportunities to build knowledge, connect with industry leaders and get acquainted with leading AI researchers. 

Get yourself on the AI Week Insiders List for early bird access to registration, event details and a chance to win one of three Amii swag packs.

Become an AI Week Insider

Applications Open for ML Technician Certification

Applications are now open for the Winter 2022 cohort of the Machine Learning Technician Certification! This 9-week, live online course gives technical learners the knowledge and skills they need to enter into an AI career.

With a mix of instruction, collaborative hands-on work and a capstone project, students of the program will learn how to develop an AI-based business solution using real-world datasets. Over 100 grads have earned a Machine Learning Technician Certificate to date. 

Applications close on January 18.

Learn More and Apply

Career Opportunities

Work at Amii:

• Executive Assistant
• Machine Learning Scientist
• Machine Learning Engineer -- apply by January 7

Work with our industry partners:

• Associate Machine Learning Scientist -- apply by December 17

Work at the University of Alberta:

• Software Engineer -- apply by January 9

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