Why We Only Hire Experienced Teachers

At AIClub, you will find that all of our teachers have notable industry and research experience. Many have Ph.Ds. Most are published. Notably, we do not hire college students to teach even middle school students, regardless of what college these candidates are studying at. Why is this?

Experience Matters

As you likely know, the AI field is progressing rapidly. Our students need more than the knowledge that comes from a classroom. They need perspective of how AI concepts translate into research, how products and engineering teams work, and how theory and practice blend together in the real world. You may ask, how much experience can someone have in a field that is so nascent? In reality, AI has been in practice for many years, and while new technology emerges daily, people skilled in the domains of AI, computing and related fields can put new developments in perspective. This perspective provides valuable context and helps our students appreciate not just the what but also the why of new AI developments. It is the difference between teaching an AI method as a series of steps vs. teaching the same AI method along with lived experiences of the problems it can solve and why. Fun stories dont hurt either!

These Skills Need To Be Acquired Early

As you may have seen in recent articles, the job market has become challenging for even fresh grads from top universities. As AIs become more capable, the appetite for corporations to train new grads in established industry practices is dwindling.The bar is rising at all levels of schooling. To get into college, to get from college to grad school, to get a job after either, requires more than it used to.  The competing students know more, and have done more at increasingly younger ages. When learning AI, it is best to learn it with industry practices from day one. In our research program, in particular, students learn how to handle real data, with all of its complexities, and the industry standard implementations of the absolutely state of the art AI. Our teachers can teach this level of material because they have experience.

Creating Room To Grow

Learning is a process of growing. The space for a student to grow is the space of knowledge between them and their teacher. If their teacher only knows a bit more - that is the student's limited space to grow. The experience of our teachers and mentors provides a large space for the student to grow as far as their interest and time allow. In our Research Institute, our mentors and advisors are all Ph.Ds with world renowned experience and recognition in their fields.

Teaching Skills Matter

We also pay great attention to the human aspect of teachers. Our experienced teachers are patient. They have worked with many students and strive to meet each student where they are. Happy and engaged students are the best learners. We want our students to not just learn AI, but to love the experience and be energized to find their passion through the process.

Our students’ success speaks for itself - over 250 wins in prestigious competitions, professional publications and more. 

See our latest video that discusses this topic below!

Check out our courses and our Research Institute here.