According to the head of the program, Prof. Meir Feder, artificial intelligence can help in dealing with some of the biggest challenges in the field of sustainability and education
Google and Tel Aviv University continue their collaboration and launched a new program to promote artificial intelligence and data science research. The program will operate under the leadership of The Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science at Tel Aviv University (TAD Center), led by Prof. Meir Feder from the Faculty of Engineering and with generous assistance of one million dollars from Google.
The new three-year program focuses mainly on promoting artificial intelligence research in the fields of sustainability and education. The launch event included a ceremony where the winners of the grants selected by the grants committee from among the proposals submitted in response to the reader's vote were announced. The faculty members who won research grants come from diverse fields: from the Porter School of Environmental Studies, life sciences, engineering and education. In addition, three scholarships were awarded to support graduate students who belong to underrepresented groups in academia in the fields of artificial intelligence. The winning students come from computer science, zoology and education.
During the opening ceremony, the President of Tel Aviv University, Prof. Ariel Porat, Prof. Yossi Matias, Vice President of Google and CEO of the Google Center in Israel, and Prof. Meir Feder, Head of the TAD Center, spoke about the program and the long-standing partnership between Google and Tel Aviv University :
The president of the university, Prof. Ariel Porat said: "Several years ago we started a fruitful collaboration with Google, under the leadership of Prof. Yossi Matias. The purpose of this partnership is to increase the contribution of artificial intelligence to the improvement of human society and the world in which we live. In this new program, we put the emphasis on using artificial intelligence tools to promote sustainability and education. Sustainability is critical to the continued existence of humanity, while education is vital to the health of our society. Tel Aviv University excels in both of these areas, and the collaboration with Google will strengthen them even more."
Use artificial intelligence in a positive way
Prof. Yossi Matias, Vice President of Google said: "We have great opportunities to use artificial intelligence to make a significant positive impact in many areas, and I am excited about our continued investment in driving positive change in sustainability and education. Through our ongoing and expanded partnership with Tel Aviv University and the University's Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, we hope to connect industrial and academic research to advance science and technology in these critical areas for humanity and society. In addition, we are committed to continuing our efforts to make academia and industry more inclusive for all parts of society." Google has started a mentorship program in partnership with "Accuracy" program founded by Prof. Tova Milo, from Dakan The Faculty of Exact Sciences at Tel Aviv University, through which women volunteers at Google will educate students from the faculty, in order to create a supportive community and help them integrate into the research and industry community.
Prof. Meir Feder, head of the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (TAD), thanked Google for the ongoing collaboration and support in these important areas of artificial intelligence research at the university. "Sustainability and education are topics of increasing interest, and artificial intelligence can greatly advance these areas for the benefit of the environment and society as a whole. Artificial intelligence can help tackle some of the biggest challenges such as innovative teaching and learning, climate change, water resources, renewable energy, biodiversity and more. The collaboration with Google helps with another important goal of the center - supporting underrepresented groups in the field of artificial intelligence in academia and promoting an inclusive environment at the university. We are happy to join forces to promote all these important aspects."
As part of the joint program, the TAD Center and Google held joint seminars in the last two years in the fields of artificial intelligence for the promotion of environmental quality, and artificial intelligence in the field of health. Led by Dr. Deborah Cohen, senior scientist at Google Research, and Dr. Shiri Stampler, director of research collaborations at the TAD Center, the meetings included lectures by researchers from Tel Aviv University and Google who presented the results of established research as well as research projects in progress, and provided a platform To promote relations between academia and industry. We will continue to hold joint meetings also within the framework of the new program.
