Boys Town Youth were immersed in Artificial Intelligence (AI) through a specialized course provided by the Mark Cuban Foundation (MCF), which empowers underserved students with essential tech skills. Thanks to Notified, a global communications company, specializing in monitoring, measuring and reacting to discussions in social media, we were able to bring this event back to Boys Town for a second year.
MCF, founded in 2019 by the Shark Tank investor, Mark Cuban, hosts free introduction to AI bootcamps for underserved high school students to increase AI literacy and understanding. Boys Town was one of 30 bootcamps held nationwide this year. Twenty students participated in the Omaha event and concurrently learned about large language models, computer vision and computer audio detection.
The Student Outcome
Part of the overall program experience involved students doing a capstone project, where they were required to pitch a Shark Tank type idea for a new AI product that they designed. Just a few years ago, Boys Town kids participating in this AI bootcamp program built a chat bot to help children deal with mental health problems.
During the Omaha bootcamp, 71% of students expressed interest in pursuing careers involving AI technologies. Among them, 14% were eager to take their capstone project ideas to the next level by developing them into business plans, with 7% already actively working on bringing their ideas to life.
“We offer our sincere thanks to Notified for sponsoring the camp and to MCF and their entire team for building this AI curriculum that is amazing, super educational and super entertaining for the kids,” said Dimitriy Knots, Boys Town’s Vice President of Data Analytics.
Inspiring the Next Generation with AI
Although computer science is becoming more important, AI education is not yet a standard part of school curriculum. Seeing this need, the MCF provides the bootcamp’s curriculum, materials, recruits local students, oversees camp logistics and works with host companies to secure volunteers and mentors to bring a fantastic camp experience to our underserved students.
Our Mission
The AI Bootcamp reinforces Boys Town’s commitment for providing opportunities for children. Many of these students are beginning their academic journey significantly behind where they should be in the typical educational timeline. Boys Town not only helps bring these students back on track but also meets them at their individual learning levels, providing the necessary resources and expert guidance to support their academic success. At Boys Town, children who once thought finishing high school was out of reach now can envision an exciting future. All of this is made possible by the generous support of our donors which enables Boys Town to provide every youth a brighter future. For more information about the Mark Cuban Foundation and the amazing AI bootcamps, click here.
