“We developed certificate and degree programs in AI for students pursuing it as a major, while also taking an interdisciplinary approach, recognizing that AI will be essential to the future of work,” she says.
Pumariega adds: “It’s important for us, especially as the workforce engine of our community, to equip our students with the skills they need to excel across industries and lead in the evolving job market.”
Miami Dade College is among the growing number of higher education institutions that are investing in AI education to ensure students have the AI skills they need to succeed in their future careers. As part of that effort, the college is providing faculty and students the technology and software tools necessary to learn AI skills.
Miami Dade’s AI Centers Give Students What They Need
The college has built AI Centers on two campuses — and is building a third — to provide faculty and students classroom space and access to high-end Dell computers for their AI courses. The centers also provide local companies and the community meeting space for AI events.
Miami Dade College has also partnered with tech vendors to provide students the resources they need to learn to build, test and run AI applications and models, says Antonio Delgado, the college’s vice president of technology and innovation.
For example, a partnership with Amazon Web Services provides students with some compute power in the cloud.
“It’s limited capacity, but it’s enough for students to practice and create their models and see them working,” says Delgado, who is working to increase access to compute resources for students.
Improving Internal Operations Through AI at Miami Dade College
Miami Dade College leaders are not just focused on AI in academics. They have simultaneously pursued the use of AI internally to improve worker productivity and to optimize business operations.
Faculty and staff have piloted new generative AI tools built into business applications, such as Microsoft’s Copilot, which is integrated into every Microsoft 365 application. For example, employees are using Copilot to transcribe Microsoft Teams meetings. They are also testing Copilot to summarize emails or help staff write or respond to emails, Delgado says.
“We’ve noticed we are increasing our productivity and efficiency by leveraging AI,” he says.
The college has also used AI to analyze energy usage in its heating and cooling systems to optimize indoor temperatures, which has resulted in cost savings, Pumariega says.
In the future, the college plans to also use AI to assist with classroom scheduling, so it can better maximize classroom space, she says.
