Fellow story
PLACEHOLDER post title
A short recap of a fellow's experience on a project, the kind of post students find useful when deciding whether to apply.
Coming soon
Impact
Why this exists.
AI Leaders of Tomorrow sits at the intersection of two problems: students who need real experience, and regional companies who need capability they cannot hire for.
Why the program exists
The regional case
The companies that anchor the South Bend–Elkhart economy are competing against firms with dedicated AI teams. Most cannot justify a full-time hire just to find out whether an idea works.
A fellow team can. The result is a working system inside a regional company, and a group of students who now know how to build one. Both stay here.
The campus case
The most common thing we hear from faculty is a version of “my students should not be using AI in my class.” That is a reasonable position about coursework and a costly one about careers.
The evidence is on the fellows page: psychology, Spanish, theology, and neuroscience majors all shipped production AI systems this summer.
For faculty
Applied AI in your course, not just the fellowship.
The fellowship is the top of a pyramid, not the whole of it. If you teach a course where applied project work could live, we help source the projects and support the build.
PLACEHOLDER: detail on the course-project model, including the pilot running in Arts and Letters this fall. Content to be confirmed with Dave and Alex.
PLACEHOLDER: faculty story or quote
Outcomes
Where fellows go next.
PLACEHOLDER: internships, roles, and reflections on how the program changed how fellows think about their careers. Fills in as the first cohorts graduate.
PLACEHOLDER: alumni outcomes and destination logos
Team
Who runs the program.
PLACEHOLDER: Shaun Whitfield's headshot still to be collected.
Alex Topalovic
Director of AI & Digital Transformation
Dave Hemler
Senior Director for Experiential Learning
Maria Gibbs
Executive Director, iNDustry Labs
Brad Sandberg
Center for Research Computing
CRC AdvisorShaun Whitfield
Center for Research Computing
CRC Advisor
News & stories
What fellows are writing.
Short posts from fellows on what a week on a project actually looks like, alongside program news and the AI update newsletter.
Part of iNDustry Labs at Notre Dame.
AILOT is one of several programs connecting Notre Dame to the regional economy.