Toronto faculty and students share achievements with President Aoun during an AI and Experiential Showcase The event highlighted the practical application of AI in Toronto and across the global university system where interdisciplinary collaboration with industry partners is woven into the curriculum. by David Nordman November 25, 2024 Share this story Copy Link Link Copied! Email Facebook LinkedIn Twitter WhatsApp Reddit Northeastern University President Joseph E. Aoun listens to faculty and students during a recent visit to the Toronto campus. Courtesy photo Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun recently delivered the keynote address at the annual conference of the Canadian Association of Graduate Studies. During his speech at the Sheraton Centre Hotel in Toronto, he told college students and administrators about how universities could better prepare their graduates for successful and fulfilling careers in an increasingly AI-driven world. After his talk, Aoun visited Northeastern’s Queen Street West campus to see his words in action. Analytics professor John Wilder was one of several faculty and students who shared their insights, achievements and experiences with Aoun during an AI and Experiential Showcase. Courtesy photo Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun meets with faculty and students during an AI and Experiential Showcase on the Toronto campus. Courtesy Photos “The ability to create and work with artificial intelligence systems, especially chatbots like ChatGPT, is one of the most sought-after skill sets in the industry right now,” Wilder said. The event highlighted the practical application of AI in Toronto and across the global university system where interdisciplinary collaboration with industry partners is woven into the curriculum. For example, Wilder and Yvonne Leung are teaching a Python AI Chatbot course to all students across all programs. The course, developed last fall in Toronto, has since expanded to six Northeastern campuses. “Through our Python workshop, students will gain experience using the Python programming language to work with AI and to build chatbots,” Wilder told Aoun. “The skills students learn will set them up for success in a competitive job market.” As a student specializing in AI and machine learning, Sujata Gaimar said it is important for her to learn Python. “This workshop taught me how to build a chatbot and enhance my confidence in coding with Python,” Gaimar said. “Additionally, I will be able to apply the knowledge I gained to develop chatbot applications in clinical research, which is my area of interest. The ability to create chatbots will be a valuable asset in my career.” Gaimar and Gloria Azimbe shared their aspirations for future applications of AI in pharma and finance, while Areeb Salsabil shared his work in AI tool development, including a resume modifier chatbot. Biotechnology student Amina Khair presented Aoun his research on how AI can be used for early detection and automated diagnosis of skin cancer, which was prepared for a seminar in a biotechnology course, Applications of AI in the Canadian Life Science Sector. And Rishabh Kaushick, an active student leader with Toronto’s Google Developer Group and NU Coding Society, presented his work in AI tool development, specifically an AI-driven book recommendation system called Book Verse. Meeting with the students, Aoun asked similar questions: “How are you using AI? What are you learning from each other? How are you adjusting to different contexts? How are you pivoting your leadership style?” They are questions that he answers in his book, “Robot-proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” “It’s leadership, it’s experiential, it’s coming together,” said Aliza Lakhani, dean and regional CEO of the Toronto campus. “The human needs to be engaged because these are the things that cannot be replaced by robots.”