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RALEIGH – Raleigh will be a host site for the Mark Cuban Foundation Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bootcamp for high school students in the Fall of 2021. The free AI Bootcamp will introduce underserved students in grades 9 through 12 in the Raleigh area to basic AI concepts and skills.

Raleigh Founded will be one of the 16 host companies selected for boot camps in 2021. Raleigh Founded is working with Brian Hamilton and the camp will be facilitated by volunteers from Red Hat. The bootcamp will be held over four consecutive Saturdays starting on October 23rd and ending on November 13th. Students do not need any prior experience with computer science or programming to attend.

Over the course of the AI Bootcamp, students will learn what artificial intelligence is and isn’t, where they already interact with AI in their own lives, the ethical implications of AI systems, and the systems behind TikTok recommendations, sales forecasting, smart assistants, facial recognition, and self-driving cars. Students also will learn how to use Microsoft’s cloud computing tools to build their own AI applications.

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Students will benefit from volunteer instructors who are knowledgeable about data science and able to help students quickly understand material normally taught at a collegiate level. For example, students will learn a new fundamental topic each day from an instructor who works with that specific technology. After learning each concept, they will work in small groups to complete lab exercises that contextualize the tech and use Microsoft Azure AI tools. At the end of the camp, there will be an opportunity for students to work together to answer the question: “How would you use AI to improve your life or the lives of those around you?”

The Mark Cuban Foundation provides the bootcamp’s curriculum materials, trains volunteers, recruits local students, and coordinates the events. The Mark Cuban Foundation and host company will also work to provide food, transportation and access to laptops and hotspots for students at no cost through the duration of bootcamps.

“We know how much untapped talent exists within our local communities as a direct result of lack of access to opportunity and resources,” said Yvette Medina, Director of the Mark Cuban Foundation’s AI Bootcamps Program. “It is imperative that we give students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds in STEM, including girls, students of color and children of families living in poverty to moderate-income households, the ability to understand artificial intelligence and machine learning and exposure to the college and career opportunities that will be shaped by this industry in the future.”

Founded by Mark Cuban in 2019, the AI Bootcamp initiative has hosted free camps for students in Dallas, El Paso, Chicago, Omaha, Detroit, and Green Bay. The Foundation’s goal is to have 1,000 students graduate from AI Bootcamps each year by 2023.

Students interested in applying to the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp should do so before August 27th, 2021 at markcubanai.org/apply . To learn more about the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamps, please visit markcubanai.org/faq .