DMACC to Offer AI Courses in Partnership with Intel

Brooklyn Draisey
| Iowa Capital Posting

Des Moines Area Community College is working to include AI skills training in its program offerings through a partnership with Intel.

The community college is set to become the first Intel AI for Workforce College partner in Iowa, along with more than 110 other participating universities across the U.S. DMACC President Rob Denson said the company will develop a non-credit certificate program this fall to teach students how to effectively use AI in the workplace, with credit-bearing courses and AI competency curriculum to be incorporated into different areas of the college in the future.

Denson said the program first came to the college’s attention about six months ago, and when he heard that none of the Iowa colleges were interested, he and the DMACC staff immediately got to work to be the first. He said many institutions are exploring how to integrate AI skills into their programming, and AI proficiency is something employers are looking for.

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“It fits into every area of the curriculum… Every subject, whether it’s technology, arts or science, can benefit from the AI process,” Denson said.

According to Intel’s report, DMACC, along with other university partners in the initiative, provides more than 700 hours of “AI content.” websiteincluding prepackaged lessons, modules, assignments, labs, and more. Intel staff also work with colleges to provide teacher training and technical support.

Intel said students will gain technical skills in other areas, such as coding and data science, as well as learn about the ethics that come with AI, how to reduce bias in programs, and how to solve problems and build solutions. The goals behind the AI for Workforce initiative are to help people understand and work easily with AI tools, increase their employability for jobs that involve AI, and demonstrate the impact of those jobs on their industries.

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While faculty at the community college will be busy incorporating the program’s teaching elements into their curriculum, a full-time faculty member has also been hired to handle teaching. Denson said the faculty members met with Intel staff to begin the curriculum-sharing process, as the company will not have direct interaction with students.

Denson said DMACC is still in the process of gathering information to develop a certification program, working with Intel and reaching out to other AI for Workforce colleges to learn best practices. The college also plans to meet with advisory committees and industry partners to better understand employers’ needs for AI skills.

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Denson said AI will be a major aspect of everyone’s work in the future, and DMACC leadership is working to ensure they know what tools are available and identify areas where AI can be used. The college president has used AI as a “thought partner” in project development, which he said is not foolproof but can be helpful.

“My expectation is that as AI advances, Intel will update and upgrade its curriculum accordingly and make it available through us,” Denson said.

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