This summer, more than 130 students have volunteered for a new program called A-I for V-A. They’ll work in teams to advise 26 small businesses on how artificial intelligence could help them.
“Most small businesses are overstretched and understaffed,” says
Kemi Jona, UVA’s vice provost for online education and digital innovation.
“We believe that the kinds of efficiencies and capabilities that AI offers will probably be felt first in these small mom and pop businesses that are trying to do too many things at once with too few people.”
Students must begin by getting certified.
“We asked the students to complete a Google AI professional certificate, so it’s about a 10-hour certificate. They do it online at their own pace. It’s free to them,” Jona explains.
Then they’ll be assigned to work on a team advising a client. They won’t get paid, but Jona says they’ll gain valuable experience and a new sense for what AI might mean for our future.
“Given how rapidly AI is transforming the labor market, students have a lot of anxiety about what’s happening to their future job prospects,” Jona says. “We wanted to give our students a way to gain some real hands-on skills in AI. We thought, ‘Well why not pair them up with local small businesses across Virginia and help those small businesses adopt AI – gaining efficiencies that have been promised at the same time.’”
Participating companies are in Northern Virginia, Richmond, Charlottesville and Salem. Google’s Lisa Gevelber came up with the idea. She says the company is thrilled to partner with UVA and hopes it will provide students with AI expertise while helping small businesses to grow.