The University of Liverpool Maths School (ULMaS) is collaborating with Inversity, the skills startup equipping British students with applied AI skills, to offer local youth high-quality AI education and opportunities.
The new initiative is backed by Dr Steve Garnett, a former global software leader at the likes of Salesforce and Oracle and now high-profile Liverpudlian philanthropist,
Through this partnership, Inversity will provide AI education, real-world skill development challenges, and hiring opportunities to local students aged 14-19.
The project will culminate in students tackling three Liverpool-themed challenges set by local organisational leaders through the Inversity platform using their AI expertise, with top performers eligible for awards.
Inversity will also offer heavily subsidised AI masterclasses for local teachers until March 2025, and hold a hackathon centred around AI's role in education for students on 9th November at the University of Liverpool.
Damian Haigh, Headteacher at the University of Liverpool Maths School, said: "We are thrilled to be working more closely with Inversity, a collaboration that continues to provide our students with invaluable exposure to cutting-edge AI education.
"We're trying to prepare our young people with the skills to solve some of society's biggest challenges. AI is becoming the fundamental tool for solving these challenges, so working with Inversity to upskill our students in AI is our major focus for this year. We're excited to see pupils participating in our outreach programme from schools across the city region."
Dr James Kuht MBE, CEO and co-founder of Inversity, said: "AI is a powerful tool for addressing society's most pressing challenges. By equipping Liverpool's youth with the skills to harness AI responsibly, we're not just educating students - we're empowering the next generation of problem-solvers. Our partnership with the University of Liverpool Maths School is a crucial step in democratising AI education and unlocking the technological potential of the Liverpool City Region.
Dr Steve Garnett, Inversity investor, commented: "I was born and bred in Liverpool and was very fortunate to get an education that allowed me to take part in the personal, mobile and cloud computing revolutions. Today we see significant corporate investment in computing power and algorithms, fuelling an AI revolution and importantly giving young people access to many powerful AI tools for free.
"I am delighted to work with Inversity and the University of Liverpool Maths School to bring the latest training in AI to talented, deserving Liverpool students and their teachers who want to be part of this exciting new wave."
This partnership builds on the School's ongoing relationship with Inversity, as its students have won the last two Inversity challenges and one has completed a summer internship with the startup.
Inversity's Liverpool project kicks off with two networking events for education and business leaders, taking place on the 2nd and 9th October, respectively, details of which can be found here.
