July News: We’re hiring & ML Tech Certification applications open

Hi there,

With summer well underway, our teams are working harder than ever to advance research and support our partners’ AI adoption plan. Time and time again, we hear that access to AI talent is top of mind for business leaders across sectors. 

Please help me better understand your AI workforce planning by completing this 10-minute survey. 

In just the past few weeks, we've celebrated social impact projects with AI4Good Lab, launched applications for the next cohort of the Machine Learning Technician Certificate, and had several publications from our Fellows, Canada CIFAR AI Chairs, and other researchers featured at leading international conferences. And that barely scratches the surface of everything going on at Amii!

• Do you want to support your organization’s business priorities? Learn how to develop your ML knowledge and skills to define and execute a machine learning project at our ML Technician Certificate course. Applications are now open for our fall program, running September 21 - November 19.
  
• We’re accepting applications for our Reducing Emissions for Machine Intelligence (REMI) program until September 10. It’s no secret that AI holds opportunities to increase revenue, improve operations and solve complex problems. REMI provides an accelerated opportunity to move your technology adoption strategy forward, focusing on addressing ambitious goals related to environmental, social, and governance performance. Learn more and apply on our REMI page. Catch the program Info Session on August 5! 

Learn more about these initiatives below and the new positions at Amii working closely with our scientists and industry partners to leverage scientific advancement into economic impact. 

See you over video chat soon,   

July Highlights: Research, Industry, Community and Training

Industry & Community Updates:

• YStation and Amii want to know about ML in your business! Please take this 10-minute survey and let us know how you are hiring and building ML capacity within your organization.
• At our June Virtual AI Meetup, NTWIST's Faraz Amjad explored how industrial processes can benefit from ML and NorQuest College's Shaunaugh Whelan discussed the new ML Analyst Diploma program.
• The Great Alberta Pitch Marathon is back! Watch over 100 Alberta-based companies pitch to a live audience -- 9 hours, +30 hosts (including our own Adam Danyleyko, Product Owner - Startups) & 2 afterparties. Don’t miss out -- sign up to attend or apply to pitch!
• The TECTERRA Awards celebrate the best and brightest individuals and companies in the Canadian geospatial community. Learn more and nominate someone by July 27.
• Seaspan Shipyards is issuing a call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) their HoloShip Initiative, intended to build independent and integrated solutions that accelerate the market potential from digital twins, digital threads, integrated analytics and real-time sensing for improved competitiveness in the marine industry. Submit by August 6!
• The Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS) is holding the Math^Industry Workshop this August! If you are a company with an interesting math challenge, consider submitting it for teams to work on solving during the workshop.

Research Updates:

• Amii researchers have 23 papers published at ICML this year, the premier gathering of professionals dedicated to the advancement of ML! 
• The Roche AI Centre of Excellence has a new name: AI with Roche (AIR)! This pan-Canadian initiative is the first to combine the expertise of all three national AI institutes under the CIFAR Pan-Canadian AI Strategy: Amii, Mila and the Vector Institute.
• We recently launched our Video Games in AI series! First up is Computational Creativity with Fellow & Canada CIFAR AI Chair at Amii Matthew Guzdial. Matthew walks us through the level editor created by his team — including an active learning AI assistant that can support designers to work faster.
• In the second AI in Video Games talk, Human in the Loop AI, Amii Fellow-in-Residence and Canada CIFAR AI Chair Matthew E. Taylor discusses reinforcement learning, the next big wave in AI advancement.
• The Tea Time Talks returns for another summer. Week one features Fellows & Canada CIFAR AI Chairs at Amii Rich Sutton and Rupam Mahmood, as well as a panel talk moderated by Martha White featuring Adam White, Csaba Szepesvári, Matthew E. Taylor and Michael Bowling.
• Week two of the Tea Time Talks features talks by Fellows & Canada CIFAR AI Chairs at Amii Michael Bowling, Patrick Pilarski and Rupam Mahmood.
• Applications are now open for the Borealis AI Winter 2022 Internship program. This program gives students the opportunity to publish original research, work with massive datasets and build game-changing statistical models.

Training Updates:

• The 2021 AI4Good Lab has concluded! Congrats to the 26 alumni of the first Edmonton cohort, who grew their knowledge and skills in AI, producing six prototypes focused on leveraging AI as a force for social good. 
• Take the first step in your AI & ML learning journey with ML Foundations 1. This live online class will help you build foundational knowledge using real-world examples. Register for the next class on August 5.
• Continue building on your ML Foundations 1 knowledge at ML Foundations 2 on August 12! This live online class takes a closer look at technical concepts.
• The CIFAR Deep Learning + Reinforcement Learning (DLRL) Summer School begins next week! This event brings together graduate students, post-docs and professionals to cover the foundational research, new developments, and real-world applications of deep learning and reinforcement learning, and is hosted by CIFAR in partnership with Amii, Mila and the Vector Institute.

Applications Open: ML Technician Certification Course

Modern businesses recognize the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI) but are also facing a severe shortage of skilled workers. The demand for AI and machine learning (ML) expertise is growing across all industries. Through the marriage of domain expertise, a key understanding of the science of machine learning and foundational technical skills, companies can gain their competitive advantage.

Did you know that our ML Technician Certification is eligible for a maximum 2/3 reimbursement through the Canadian Job Grant? This eligibility empowers you to make your professional development budget stretch even farther! 

Learn more about how you can be part of that advantage -- check out our course page and apply for our fall program!

Meet the growing demand for AI expertise

Upcoming Events

July 22: Virtual AI Meetup

Learn about the latest tools and techniques in machine learning, and explore topics that researchers and industry professionals are thinking about or working on. This month's speakers include three teams who participated and presented at the AI4Good Lab Demo Day: SoQuo, N(A)RRAT(I)VE and PhysiFeedback. Join for the presentations and stay for the networking!

Join Alberta's growing AI community!

July 23: AI Seminar - Levi Lelis
The AI Seminar is a weekly meeting where researchers discuss a wide range of topics related to AI, from foundational theoretical work to innovative applications of techniques. This week, Levi Lelis presents. Levi is a Fellow & Canada CIFAR AI Chair at Amii, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computing Science at the University of Alberta and a Professor on leave from the Universidade Federal de Viçosa in Brazil. His research goal is to develop intelligent systems that are able to augment people through teaching and collaboration.

RSVP Now

July 30: AI Seminar - Dustin Morrill
The AI Seminar is a weekly meeting where researchers discuss a wide range of topics related to AI, from foundational theoretical work to innovative applications of techniques. This week, Dustin Morrill presents. Dustin is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Alberta and Amii, co-supervised by Professor Michael Bowling and Professor Amy Greenwald of Brown University. He works on multi-agent learning and scaleable, dependable learning algorithms. Dustin is a co-author of DeepStack and created Cepheus’s public match interface.

RSVP Now

August 5: REMI Info Session
Are you ready to be a leader in AI adoption in the energy sector? At this info session, David Chan (Product Lead, Industry) and Ron Kube (Director, Special Projects) explore the tangible opportunities of this program and how to apply. Discover how the REMI program is a great first step to better understand the technology and the opportunities to apply it in your business.

Learn about REMI

See a full list of Amii and partner events on our Events page.

Job Opportunities

Work at Amii:

• Machine Learning Scientist -- apply by July 30
• Program Coordinator - Talent -- apply by July 30
• Science Communications Associate -- apply by July 30

Work with our industry partners: 

• Machine Learning Intern -- apply by July 31
• Associate Machine Learning Scientist (Calgary) -- apply by July 31

Recommended Readings

• Read about the future of farming tech in this University of Alberta article, featuring our own Shazan Jabbar & Nella Brodett.
• As reported by the Edmonton Journal, Edmonton ranks as North America’s fastest-growing tech sector in the latest CBRE report, growing by more than 50% over five years.

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