A new Oregon State University program aims to bring together companies with AI projects with advanced-degree students in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
OSU is currently accepting project proposals for the AI-focused capstone program. Students will spend three quarters digging in on the ideas, products or proposals selected.
“We have an AI graduate program that has Phd and MS students. Part of that MS degree needs to be a project or thesis. A project is a slightly less academic version of thesis. It’s not for publication but is a significant project,” said Alan Fern, the professor who is running the program.
Last year was the first year the school ran this graduate AI Capstone Project. About a dozen students were part of it. Projects included helping researchers in the OSU Oceanography Department spot whales in drone footage and working with a small company on how to help a city allocate limited fire department resources.
This year, organizations have until Sept. 22 to submit applications for a project.
A successful project is one that has a well-defined scope, said Fern, and there must be someone inside a partner organization available to work with students on a regular basis.
“There needs to be genuine investment in time and interest,” he said.
OSU has a robust capstone program for undergraduate students but this graduate level program is new for the AI program. It’s designed to not only help students with hands-on projects but is useful for organizations looking to recruit or train the next generation of workers, said Ron Khormaei, director of industry partnerships for the EECS school.
The school doesn’t charge organizations to partner on this program, which offers companies and organizations an opportunity to test out proof-of-concept, said Fern. He noted full fledged products aren’t likely the first outcome, but companies can evaluate the product potential based on the work.
“This provides a venue for industry to get in there and have some projects (that might be) on the back burner worked on, but more importantly it’s getting access to students that are coming out in a year,” Khormaei added.
Additionally, Khormaei said this can help companies give their own managers a new challenge or project to get energized about.
