You can also leave any feedback and questions via my personal website ???? Right after the AI talk has finished, I asked a few students what they think about the idea of creating an Artificial Intelligence Society.
They all seemed to be quite interested, so I decided to pursue that idea further.
I contacted a few of my friends to help me with creating the AI Society.
They were excited to help, so in the meantime, we started preparing a launch event.
It was a big chunk of work to handle as we were also creating the material for the upcoming workshop sessions.
The launch event was quite successful: around 60 students came for our first event.
During the semester, we managed to maintain a high attendance of students for the workshops and we have also engaged 8 different speakers to lead the workshop sessions! Personally, I have learned a lot of new concepts in AI from my friends which I didn’t even know that they exist.
They showed me a lot of useful, less popular Python libraries and introduced me to more niche topics in AI.
I also saw a lot of different coding styles which helped me in adapting better programming practices and taught me how to review the code.
The beauty of the study group is that it brings a community which is passionate about a certain subject.
It is so much easier to keep yourself accountable for learning new concepts and technologies together with other people.
You can exchange your ideas, keep yourself updated with the latest news from the industry or help each other if you have bugs in the code or if you struggle to understand a certain topic.
We all become teachers and students at the same time.
The workshops also make you more engaged and attentive during the session than if you would be during a normal lecture at the university.
Learning by action is much more effective as it tests your understanding as well.
I have spent a lot of late evenings in the library to prepare the code and slides for the upcoming workshops.
It was definitely a time-consuming task to do but I appreciated that little push which helped me expand my knowledge.
There was no option of failing to prepare materials because students were waiting for the next workshop session.
As you commit yourself to something, you often might find yourself getting out of the comfort zone to achieve it.
It can take many forms: hosting the workshops, introducing the speaker or creating the code for the study group.
People expect that you will do what you promised, which can give you a little “kick in the butt” to deliver it on time.
From my experience, it is just an amazing opportunity for Personal Growth.
What could be better to prove your passion than creating a study group where you can learn together with other people?.It shows that you put an effort into expanding your knowledge on this topic and proves that you can take your own initiative.
In the previous semester, I noticed that after I updated my CV with details about that study group I started getting more invitations for interviews.
Finally, I’ve got a summer internship offer from a company and during the interview one of the main questions was about the Artificial Intelligence Society ???? On several occasions, I found myself in a situation when people I met for the first me will already know me because I am the president of the AI Society.
They also sometimes assume that I am must be an expert in AI, which is untrue (I believe that you can call yourself an AI expert only after completing P.
h.
D, or after several years of work experience).
Leading a study group grows your network of people who are passionate about the same thing!.Who knows when it might become invaluable: maybe when you will be looking for another job, or when you will be trying to get your first clients for your business? It is not hard at all!.Ask your co-workers, students, or friends if they want to create a study group.
It might take various forms: from organizing weekly, unofficial meetings to creating bigger events with speakers or conferences.
Think about how much time you and your friends can commit and find a place where you can host your events.
It might be difficult at the beginning but ask your friends for help and listen to the feedback, this will help you grow your study group!Thank you for reading the article.
If you got excited about the idea of creating a study group, do contact me on Linkedin.
I will be happy to offer you some advice! Bio: Kacper Kubara is a Machine Learning Research Intern at IT Innovation Centre.
He writes about AI and Personal Growth with passion.
He is the Founder of University of Southampton AI Society.
His personal website is www.
kacperkubara.
com.
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