Program Overview

Boston University AI4ALL is a program promoting greater diversity and inclusion in the field of Artificial Intelligence. Young women currently in their junior or senior year of high school in the Boston area are welcome to apply. During the 2-week program, participants will explore the field of AI through team projects, industry field trips, and presentations from guest speakers. The program will conclude with a small group research project and a presentation for friends and family. BU AI4ALL does not charge an application fee or tuition, however all students accepted into the program pay a $100 registration fee.

Sample Topics

Robots: Explore what it takes to get a robot to work and how scientists are working to give robots physical and emotional intelligence.

Computer Vision: Learn about the algorithms behind visual face recognition (like the software that is used to identify faces in photos) and other techniques that computers use to process visual information.

Natural Language Processing (NLP): Find out what it takes to make a Chabot like Siri work. How does a computer process human language?

Text processing, image analysis, and the NASA satellite image tagging

Sample Schedule

Program Dates and Times

The program will run July 23rd to August 10th. The program will run 9am to 4pm Monday through Friday. Participants are responsible for cummuting to BU from their homes. Dormitory accommodations are not available.

Application Timeline

Application Deadline: May 1, 2018

Applicants will be notified of decisions by May 15th.

Access Application Here

Cynthia Brossman: Program Manager

Cynthia Brossman is Director of the Boston University Learning Resource Network (LERNet) a center at Boston University dedicated to promoting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. LERNet offers programs to K-12 teachers and students that encourage their interest in STEM disciplines and promote awareness both of careers and research in these fields. In addition to AI4All, LERNet programs include Artemis, BIOBUGS, Summer Pathways, GROW, and Codebreakers, several of which focus on encouraging young women to pursue STEM.

LERNet also has administered several NSF programs including GLACIER, a GK-12 program focused on Global Change; a Research Expereince for Teachers in Biophotonics; PROSTARS (a STEP grant focusing on increasing STEM undergraduate majors); and WIN (Women in Networks), a PAID award.

LERNet also took a lead in forming the Boston Area Girls STEM Collaborative, a coalition of local universities and non-profits that advocates for girls in science and implements programming to increase their participation in STEM activities. LERNet has helped organize their two annual flagship programs, SET in the City and Tech Savvy, for the past ten years.

Kate Saenko: Program Director

Kate Saenko is an Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science at Boston University, and the director of the Computer Vision and Learning Group and member of the IVC Group. She received her PhD from MIT. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor at the Department of Computer Science at UMass Lowell, a Postdoctoral Researcher at the International Computer Science Institute, a Visiting Scholar at UC Berkeley EECS and a Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Harvard University. Her research interests are in the broad area of Artificial Intelligence with a focus on Adaptive Machine Learning, Learning for Vision and Language Understanding, and Deep Learning.