Ohio State University will soon add a tech giant to its Innovation District.
In an interview with CNBC's Squawk Box with Rebecca Quick on Sept. 9, Ohio State President Ravi Bellamkonda teased a new partnership with Google to establish an on-campus space in the Innovation District on west campus.
Bellamkonda said this is likely "the largest foundational partnership" between Google and any U.S. university, and it is one of the first Google spaces on any university campus.
The partnership will allow Ohio State to utilize Google's DeepMind artificial intelligence research and development laboratory.
Bellamkonda said working with Google "reinforces our AI Fluency initiative," an Ohio State program that officially launched last academic year that integrates
AI education into every undergraduate's core curriculum. The goal is that every student, starting with the Class of 2029 and regardless of major, will be comfortable and competent with AI tools by graduation.
AI Fluency aims to boost students' AI literacy and push them to be "bilingual" in both their major field of study and in how AI applies to that area, Bellamkonda previously told The Dispatch. He said he believes no other U.S. university has taken on an AI initiative at the scale of Ohio State.
In addition to using DeepMind tools, Ohio State will also launch a research ambassador program with Google Public Sector – a subsidiary company that works with U.S. government agencies and educational institutions – which the university said is "a first-of-its-kind internship program" for students.
Google will also offer tools for students, including personalized AI assistants, career pathway tools and experiential learning opportunities.
Referencing an earlier segment on the show discussing AI use in elementary schools, Bellamkonda said educators from elementary schools through universities need to have a conversation about how to best use the technology. AI, he said, has the "ability to radically change how learning happens, the pace of learning and assisting us in learning."
Bellamkonda said universities "have to teach [students] how to embrace this because this is a new tool that's being used in industry."
"We have to ask ourselves, 'What is OK to offload to AI and what do we need to preserve as educators?'" Bellamkonda said.
Higher education reporter Sheridan Hendrix can be reached at shendrix@dispatch.com and on Signal at @sheridan.120. You can follow her on Instagram at @sheridanwrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State University to partner with Google for new on-campus AI hub
