Performing Department
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Non Technical Summary
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has changed human outlook and transformed our lives in different areas. From voice-activated smart systems like "Alexa" and "Siri," to ChatGPT, to self-driving vehicles, facial recognition systems and robotics. AI has also led to technological solutions that were previously unthinkable in the domain of agrifood production and processing. The fields of agriculture and food science are among the last to fully embrace AI. There is a current need to train professionals who will meet the need in these fields.The United States of America is currentlyexperiencing a serious shortage of skilled workers in AI and there is an urgent need to fill this gap sothat US does not lag behind in an industry projected to worth over $1.4 trillion globally by 2029. While there is a general labor shortage in AI in the U.S., there is even a worse representation of minorities in AI and AgriTech fields that is far below their demographic representation.In the US, African Americans and Hispanics constitute about 27% of the population but theyonly make up about 16% of STEM employees.Even though womenconstitute about 50% of the workforce, theyare only about one-third of workers in theSTEM/AI field. Our main goal is to fill this gap by training four graduate students in the area of AgriTech that combines Agriculture and Food Science knowledge with Artificial Intelligence.This traineeship program provides an opportunity to fill this gap by recruiting high-qualified underrepresented minorities who will be trained at two leading land grant institutions in the state of Kentucky. We have designed a program that will inspire knowledge and skill acquisition that includes MS and Ph.D. degrees that intersect Agriculture and Food Scienes with AI.The traineeship will goad the students by providing excellent course offering in data science, agrifood sciences,internship opportunity and experiences at leading AgriTech companies in the nation, certifcate courses that will enhance their leadership and management skills, and pair mentoring that provides a support system for them beyond their advisor.Our expectation is 100% completion for allstudents that will be recurited and trained, who will go on to inspire others like them to choose a path in AgriTech. The program evaluation will ensure will understand the needs of the trainees as they unravel during their time with us. This program is expected to increase and help meetthe workforce need within the AgriTech industry in Kentucky and nationally.
Animal Health Component
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Research Effort Categories
Basic
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Applied
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Developmental
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Goals / Objectives
The major goal of this traineeship project is to train four underrepresented minority graduate students in the field of AgriTech where they will acquire high level skills in AI, Agriculture and Food Sciences.
Project Methods
Method: The approach that will be used to execute this project include the following:We will recruit underrepresented minority students as described in our objective. Students will be recuited from across the state of Kentucky and nationally. The students will be enrolled in graduate programs at the University of Kentucky (three students - Two Ph.D. and one M.S) and Kentucky STate University (one M.S.). They will be required to complete courses that meet their respective departmental requirements, and the goal of this traineeship program that includes knowledge and hands on skill acquisition in data science, agriculture and food sciences, programming languages such as Python, MATLAB, R, SAS, SQL, and as required.The students will paired with mentors from the onset of their graduate program aside from their research advisor. They will play an informal role of a mentor, non-technical.They will also be required to complete one internship that extends between three to six months. Opportunities will be sought with leading AgriTech companies in Kentucky and beyond for this interships.They are also suppsoed to complete two certificates courses that will focus on various topics of interest to them in the context of the goal of this traineeship. The options include ceerticates in Global Engagement, Project Management, Food Safety, AI, Lean Manufacturing, and sustatinability, among others.Evaluation:Program evaluation is a major componet of this traineeship program. Through the support of the Key Personnel in our team who is an experienced program evaluator, we will plan and execute program evaluation that includes:Orientation program for the trainees (mentees) and the mentors (some of who are PDs on the project and others within our university communities).We will ensure our students attend all required university based orientation programs to give them a strong start to their degree program with us.The program evaluation will track academic records per semester, certificate course completion and the effectiveness of the mentoring and internship programs.A record of contact between the mentors and the mentee will be required on a regular basis. The includethe date, time, place, subjects of discussion, key points of discussion and duration of meeting. The report submitted will be evaluated to ensure the mentees and mentors are well served, and if not for a quick adjustment to be made.An exit interview will be conducted to assess the overall experience of the student in the traineeship program and specific questions will be posed based on their experience with the mentoring program.