The Future Is Now – UF Design, Construction and Planning Department Is Developing AI Curriculum for Faculty and Students (UF DCP)

The Future Is Now – UF Design, Construction and Planning Department Is Developing AI Curriculum for Faculty and Students

On a hot, muggy morning in July 2020, University of Florida President Kent Fuchs announced an astonishing $70 million public-private partnership between UF and NVIDIA, thus making artificial intelligence (AI) the centerpiece of a major, long-term initiative combining world-class research infrastructure, cutting-edge analysis and a revolutionary approach to curriculum. As a direct result, UF College of Design, Construction and Planning faculty and students will soon have unprecedented access to AI training, the world’s fastest AI supercomputer in higher education and more.

“Design, construction management and planning (the core disciplines within DCP) all require human intellect, expertise and creativity,” DCP Dean Chimay Anumba said. “As such, they have always been regarded as prime fields for the deployment of AI. This new focus on AI will transform the capacity of our faculty and students to reimagine the future of the built environment and to develop innovative solutions to societal problems.”

A committee was formed in Fall 2020 to develop the required college-specific AI course for DCP. Aiming to catapult DCP’s research strength and address some of the world’s most formidable challenges, “DCP 4300 – AI in the Built Environment” was born. Debuting in Spring 2022, DCP’s first AI class will include application in professional practice for architecture, construction management, interior design, landscape architecture, and urban and regional planning. To take this course, students must first obtain a university-wide undergraduate certificate this fall titled Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals and Applications.

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