January News: ML Tech Scholarships, AI4Good Lab & AI Meetup returns!

Hi there,

Happy new year!

As 2022 gets going, we can’t help but be excited for all that’s in store for the year ahead. Our clients and industry partners are poised to take their AI adoption goals to new heights, and meanwhile, our academic research teams continue to push the bounds of what’s possible with AI and machine learning.

This coming year also marks 20 years of AI excellence in Alberta, and we’re thrilled to be bringing together the business, research and innovation communities to celebrate at AI Week presented by Amii in May.

Here are just a couple of ways you can get involved with one of the world’s fastest-growing sectors:

• The inaugural AI Week presented by Amii will take place from May 24-27! 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. Sign up to be an AI Week Insider today.
• We’re pleased to offer 20 scholarships into our Machine Learning Technician Certification Program, which runs from February 1 to April 1, 2022. The scholarships focus on giving access to individuals who are typically underrepresented in STEM fields, who are recent immigrants to Canada or who live in rural settings. Apply by January 18 and prepare for your career in AI.

There are so many other ways to be part of Canada’s leadership in AI and machine learning. Read on and discover the latest research and industry advancements, upcoming events and career opportunities with Amii.

See you over video chat soon,

January Highlights: Research, Industry, Community and Training

Industry & Community Updates:

• A new provincial pre-accelerator for tech-focused startups has launched with an inaugural cohort of 35 entrepreneurs! Alberta Catalyzer provides education, mentorship, programming and resources to help innovation-driven startup founders prepare for their next phase of growth. The program is being developed and delivered by Platform Calgary and Innovate Edmonton, in partnership with Alberta Innovates.
• The 2022 Digital Alberta Ember Awards submissions are now open – an initiative that highlights the best in Alberta's Interactive and Digital Media landscape. We’re happy to be sponsoring the "Best Up-and-Coming Software Developer" category this year!
• Registration is now open for StrikeUp 2022, a virtual conference for women entrepreneurs. Invest in yourself and grow your business in 2022, gaining access to growth partners, mentorship and finance.

Research Updates:

• In a recent AI Seminar, Hamsa Bastani (Assistant Professor at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania) discusses the design of Eva, an ML system built to limit the number of asymptomatic travellers entering Greece during the pandemic in summer 2020 in the latest AI Seminar.
• Chris Ceroici, Lead ML Engineer at PulseMedica, presented at a recent AI Seminar on the company’s AI-powered disease detection software, which is currently being beta-tested at a retina clinic in Edmonton. 
• A multidisciplinary team out of the University of Alberta is researching the use of AI-powered sound therapy in ICU wards, led by music professor Michael Frishkopf and in collaboration with Osmar Zaïane (Fellow & Canada CIFAR AI Chair at Amii).

Training Updates:

• Applications opened on January 15 for AI4Good Lab, a summer training program for women and gender minorities across Canada! Study ML with top researchers, build relationships with your mentors in the AI industry, and work with your team to develop your own AI project for social good.
• Are you ready to take the first step in your AI & ML learning journey? ML Foundations 1 will give you a crash course on the basics, building foundational knowledge using real-world examples. Register for the February 3 class.
• Continue to build foundational knowledge about AI & ML at ML Foundations 2! This live online class takes a closer look at technical concepts introduced in ML Foundations 1. Learn more and register now for the February 10 class.

Scholarships Available for ML Technician Certification

Twenty full scholarships are now being offered for our Winter 2022 cohort of the ML Technician Certification! The scholarships will cover the full cost of registration with a focus on giving access to individuals who are typically underrepresented in STEM fields, who are recent immigrants to Canada or who live in rural settings.

The ML Technician Certification is a 9-week, live online course that 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 Certificate of Completion to date.

Applications close on January 18.

Learn more and apply

Events

January 21: AI Seminar – Bingshan Hu
AI Seminar is a weekly meeting where researchers interested in AI can share their current research. The seminars discuss a wide range of topics related in any way to Artificial Intelligence, from foundational theoretical work to innovative applications of AI techniques to new fields and problems of interest. This week’s speaker is Bingshan Hu (Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Amii & Faculty of Science - Computing Science at the University of Alberta).

RSVP

January 25: AI for Precision Heath: Challenges and Opportunities
Join us for a discussion of challenges and solutions to AI implementation in health care, and of key trends that will impact developments in AI over the next several years. Featuring Dr. Ross Mitchell (Inaugural Alberta Health Services Chair in Artificial Intelligence in Health and Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta), this event is presented by the University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry Dean’s Lecture Series: Precision Health, in conjunction with Amii.

Register now

January 25: Virtual AI Meetup – Office Olympics
We're back! And the first AI Meetup of 2022 is all fun and games. Meet fellow AI enthusiasts and compete with them in teams, from world-class trivia to games such as "Can you hear me now?". Sign up to have fun, meet new friends and test your ecosystem knowledge in this special edition of AI Meetup, and be a part of building Alberta’s growing AI community!

Sign up now

Register now

Career Opportunities

Work at Amii:

• Machine Learning Project Manager - Advanced Technology -- apply by January 20

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