EDC Leads Two-Day Convening on AI-Enhanced Data Careers
EDC engaged data analysts from across the U.S. in a two-day research workshop focused on gaining their insights for the “Profile of the Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Enhanced Data Practitioner” our workforce development experts are developing. When complete, the profile will help guide curriculum development at community colleges nationwide.
The workshop was part of the National Science Foundation-funded Integrating AI in Community Colleges R&D project in which we are building a replicable approach to creating pathways to AI-enabled careers. EDC experts Joyce Malyn-Smith, Kirsten Peterson, Sarah MacGillivray, and Irene Lee facilitated rich discussions of what an AI-Enhanced Data Practitioner role entails, skills needed to fill the role, how AI might advance the work, and critical functions that must continue to be led by humans.
This profile is part of a series of EDC occupational profiles that inform education and workforce training for occupations at the cutting-edge of STEM innovation. EDC has specialized in the development of such profiles for decades. All profiles define what expert workers in emerging occupations know and do and serve as road maps to update STEM education and workforce development to keep pace with industry.
“The knowledge, perspectives, and ideas that all workshop participants shared form the core of the profile and are truly invaluable to its development,” said Joyce Malyn-Smith, EDC Distinguished Scholar/Advisor and Principal Investigator of the project. “We appreciate their contributions to this research that will help colleges prepare a future-ready workforce.”
Workshop participant Samridhi Vats, Amazon Business Intelligence Engineer II and Business Analyst II, noted, “How do we prepare students for roles that are changing even as we try to define them? Every sticky note, card, chart, discussion, revision, and point of disagreement became part of the body of input that EDC will use to build and strengthen the research. That mattered to me because this work is intended to help shape how community colleges think about curriculum and prepare students for a workforce that is changing quickly.”
We invite you to read a related article by Joyce Malyn-Smith and Kirsten Peterson, “Human-Centered AI Interactions,” to learn more about our human-centered AI work, and to explore our STEM Education & Workforce Development initiatives.
