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Hillsborough College received a quarter of a million dollars to support the development of an Artificial Intelligence Innovation Center on its Dale Mabry campus.
One school official says they’re preparing students for a future where AI skills are increasingly important.
Chris Paynter is the Dean of Associates in Science and Technical Programs at Hillsborough College.
He says the funding will go towards building a physical lab with high-tech workspaces with the computing power needed to support artificial intelligence.
“That’s really important work that we’re doing to prepare students for a future where AI skills are really important, both from a technical career standpoint, but just for careers in general as well,” Paynter told WMNF.
Paynter says two years ago, they launched a degree program in AI, and recognized they needed more resources to teach the students what they needed to know.
“Employers are looking for students that have AI skills, from, from an employer’s perspective to be able to add that strength to the business, to develop their own internal AI systems and do processes and efficiently use AI correctly in an organization,” Paynter said.
The funding will also go towards professional development for K-12 and technical college educators in AI.
According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, software developers and personal finance advisors are the two occupations most susceptible to artificial intelligence impacts.
