We believe in a future where AI skills are available to
everyone, regardless of age, gender, race, or socioeconomic background. We believe that to reach this
future, we have to start
today.
AI in Business exists to help organisations beat extinction and thrive in the digital age. Tech is reshaping how we live, learn, work, socialise, and more. Our work aims to help organisations of all types prepare to excel in this future, and we feel that the young people of today should be given the best possible preparation to do the same.
We are firm believers that all businesses and organisations need purpose in order to effectively serve their customers, audiences, industry, local communities, and even the world at large. We've long operated by Simon Sinek's famous Golden Circle model for creating a value proposition, and always start with "Why" we do what we do before determining how or what we do. Here's what that looks like for us...
We are very proud to play our part in creating this future through our Leaders of Tomorrow in Tech initiative. Now in its third year, this project has been launched to train, support and showcase young talent at the secondary school level, closing the knowledge gap surrounding the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the future of work and society.
In the 2020 pilot programme, a group of students from St Gregory’s Catholic school, a mixed, all ability, secondary school in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and its partner school, St Simon Stock, in Maidstone, participated. The initial group comprised a range of students from various year groups, including those studying business, finance and IT, and was made fully inclusive, with deaf pupils.
The programme comprised six expert sessions delivered by leading academics and experts representing organisations including Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, The Alan Turing Institute and PwC. During the social distancing period, these sessions were delivered virtually. At the end of the programme, four lucky students participated in the Leaders of Tomorrow in Tech Awards. The winner was announced at the Digital Transformation Expo, and received mentoring from Lord Clement-Jones, Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence.
Following the success of the first cohort, we delivered the Leaders of Tomorrow programme to St. Thomas the Apostle College in Peckham with a 4-week programme in February 2022. Sessions for the second cohort were delivered by AI in Business CEO and programme facilitator Katie King, industry experts representing PwC and NHS Test and Trace, and a precocious and inspiring 8-year-old from Leicester who earned a STEM award after teaching himself to code during lockdown and developing educational software for his classmates.
As with the first cohort, students went on to participate in the Leaders of Tomorrow in Tech Awards, with the winner receiving mentorship from the judges. The winning project applied AI to tackle the effects of gentrification in South London, and was announced live at DTX Europe 2022.
At the start of 2023, we had the pleasure of taking the Leaders of Tomorrow programme abroad for our first international cohort. In partnership with World Travel Market Africa, the students of Manenberg Secondary School and Gardens Commercial High School in Cape Town, South Africa participated in learning sessions delivered by various industry experts with a special focus on travel and tourism. Katie King served as both the programme facilitator
and the first guest speaker, with additional sessions from Marketing Executive Simone Seekoei of Amadeus and Proitroom’s Senior Business Development Manager, Michael Puffett.
As with the previous two cohorts, the programme concluded in a competition that was once again judged by King and Lord Tim Clement-Jones. The winning project, which applied a triple bottom-line approach to promoting sustainability in tourism, was announced at the live World Travel Market Africa event on 4 April 2023.
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