Student teams to present projects during virtual showcase

Bold Insight provided students with opportunities to plan and execute projects that bridge the artificial intelligence (AI) and user experience design (UX) fields by funding a summer grant at DePaul University.

Undergraduate and graduate students in DePaul’s College of Computing and Digital Media (CDM) were eligible for the grant, Bridging AI & UX, which provided stipends to teams through a competitive process. What began on June 15, 2021, will culminate in a virtual showcase Nov. 4, 2021. The student teams will present research findings and deliverables to DePaul faculty and staff, the Bold Insight team, co-sponsor Leap of Faith Technologies, and select clients.

The event is free and open to the public. Register at https://2021bridgingaiuxshowcase.eventbrite.com/.

“We are delighted to have Bold Insight and Leap of Faith collaborating with DePaul to provide a meaningful educational experience for our students. This project builds on their classes while at the same time working with a team on a project that transcends the classroom,” said Jacob Furst, director of DePaul’s School of Computing.

Gavin Lew, Managing Partner of Bold Insight, worked with David Miller, Dean of CDM, to architect the grant. Gavin commented, “Having taught a graduate class on UX research methods for years, I and my team at Bold Insight wanted to push further and fund more applied UX research for students in areas like AI. We’re hoping to extend the program beyond this year; we’ve been very impressed with the teams’ ideas and research goals and would look forward to providing this opportunity to more students.”

Three teams made up of multi-disciplinary groups of four students and a faculty advisor tackled the challenge of applying artificial intelligence and user experience in ways that explore social or cultural impacts on people and communities. Bold Insight researchers supported the teams with guidance and research mentoring.

The Tweet and Sour project team designed a browser extension that utilizes sentiment analysis to identify if tweets are unifying or divisive in nature, thereby helping users to better understand the tweets with which they interact. The AVAI team focused on safety communication between drivers, autonomous vehicles, and pedestrians with the goal of boosting trust around autonomous vehicle integration within communities. The project team The More You Know Travel built a website and app that aims to personalize travel logistics based on the user’s experience, disabilities, and preferences.

The showcase recording will be available in late November. For more information about DePaul’s College of Computing and Digital Media, visit https://www.cdm.depaul.edu/.