Conference: EXAIL: NSF ExpandAI Leadership Workshop

University Of Texas At San Antonio, San Antonio TX

Investigators

Abstract

This workshop is the first program-wide PI meeting for the program, Expanding AI Innovation through Capacity Building and Partnerships (ExpandAI), which supports minority-serving institutions in building new capacity in AI research and education and fosters new collaborations between MSIs and the National AI Institutes. Building on the foundations and successes of the inaugural awards in ExpandAI, the proposed 2024 ExpandAI Leadership Workshop (EXAIL) is designed to serve as the essential forum for researchers and leaders of ExpandAI, facilitate networking, and enrich the technical and leadership capacities of attendees. Taking place in Pittsburgh, PA beginning October 6, 2024, this event is scheduled in conjunction with the 2024 NSF Summit for AI Institute Leadership (SAIL). These strategically co-located events will enable EXAIL to create and leverage synergies with the AI Institutes community, enabling a rich exchange of resources and expertise. A central focus of the workshop is to strengthen the community among MSIs by establishing networks, sharing best practices, and addressing the specific challenges facing these institutions in AI research and education. EXAIL is designed to significantly advance the intellectual capacity and output of AI research and education at MSIs. The focus on facilitating deeper integration between MSIs and further with the established AI Institutes advances the ExpandAI program goals toward a supportive environment for academic progress and innovation in AI. The workshop program emphasizes the enhancement of research and education activities by enabling new and diverse collaborations between MSIs and leading AI institutes. This complements the goals of ExpandAI by increasing the research landscape with new AI innovation. EXAIL also focuses on building bridges between various AI domains, covered by ongoing ExpandAI projects, through cross-disciplinary interactions that can spark pioneering ideas. In addition, EXAIL is organized to establish a platform for knowledge dissemination, allowing ExpandAI leaders to present and share their latest research findings, keeping MSIs at the forefront of AI research and education. By co-locating and integrating with the Summit for AI Institutes Leadership (SAIL), this workshop will build upon the EXAIL program by fully integrating participants into the AI Institutes community, building more knowledge exchange and fostering new partnerships and collaborations. Through all of these activities, EXAIL directly contributes to the goal of broadening participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This supports the development of new centers of AI innovation and education in MSIs, thus benefiting the communities they serve and supporting local and regional economic development through technology development and transfer, as well as the preparation of a skilled workforce. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.