AI4VA

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[NARRATOR]: As a leading public university, UVA's mission reaches beyond its own students to the economic strength of the whole Commonwealth. Yet across Virginia, many small businesses and nonprofits lack the time and know-how to realize AI's benefits, and students need real AI experience to launch their careers. AI4VA is UVA's answer, one that no single organization could ever deliver alone. Here's how it works: UVA recruits students and convenes the coalition; Google brings industry-recognized AI certification; Riipen powers the projects; the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce opens the door to local employers; and businesses bring the real challenges. Each contributes what the others can't. From here, students earn Google's AI Professional Certificate, then spend six weeks consulting, pro-bono and fully virtual, on real projects co-designed with each employer. It's open to any major, any year, no tech experience required. And because it's virtual, it reaches from Charlottesville, to the state capitol in Richmond, all the way to the heart of Appalachia, with more than a hundred students across eight of UVA's twelve schools and UVA Wise serving sixteen employers statewide. Hear from one AI4VA participant in their own words about what this experience means to them:

[MARLISE LUCAS]: The program taught me how to learn how to use AI...you know, AI is constantly evolving, so being able to stick with the times and the pace that AI is growing...I feel confident that I'm gonna be able to do that, and I think that's just gonna be a skill that's gonna be able to carry me through my entire career in the future.

[NARRATOR]: That's the power of partnerships: students gain career-building experience and Virginia's communities gain AI capacity, at no cost to either. It's a public university keeping its promise to the Commonwealth, and it's a model any University can build.

[EXIT TITLE CARD]: AI4VA is a project of UVA Online Education and Digital Innovation. For more information, please visit AI4VA.org.

Student-led AI consulting. Real business impacts. OEDI is proud to partner with Riipen, Grow With Google, the University of Virginia AI Literacy and Action Lab, and the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce to offer AI4VA. This innovative program pairs Virginia small businesses, non-profits, and local public sector agencies with skilled UVA student teams who will dedicate 100+ hours to consulting on AI strategy and implementation.

Through six-week pro-bono virtual projects, student teams will work side-by-side with employers to streamline operations, develop new AI-powered strategies, and build AI literacy.

It's a true win-win partnership: Virginia's vibrant small business entrepreneurs paired with UVA's talented students, creating AI-powered solutions that work while providing valuable real-world experience for tomorrow's workforce.

Signups for fall 2026 AI4VA are now closed.

Thank you for your interest in participating in AI4VA.

Students, employers, and CIOs may fill out our interest form to hear about future opportunities.

Fill Out The Interest Form

Interested in learning more about AI4VA or running your own version?

For more information, please contact our Program Manager, Becky Reid.

Contact Becky

Media inquiries?

Please contact our Strategic Initiatives Coordinator, Jaden Bernard.

Contact Jaden

Why AI4VA?

As AI tools become more powerful and widely available, many small businesses and organizations are wondering how to take advantage of these new tools to improve their operations, services, and impact.

Meanwhile, students are increasingly being asked to demonstrate AI competencies as they prepare to enter a competitive workforce.

Building on the success of OEDI's Career Academies, AI4VA offers UVA students the chance to roll up their sleeves and help Virginia small businesses effectively utilize AI while gaining experience in applying AI to real-world problems. For businesses and organizations, AI4VA stands as a unique opportunity to build AI literacy and in-house AI capacity at no cost.

How does it work?

AI4VA combines self-paced online learning with virtual employer projects to provide a seamless, accessible experience for students and employers alike.

Leading up to the project period, participants will be invited to complete AI literacy coursework via Grow with Google's new AI Professional Certificate. The University of Virginia's AI Literacy and Action Lab also connects students with resources available through the University's library system, including tutorials on new tools and the AI Literacy Framework (Lo, 2025), giving students a structured roadmap to build deep, responsible AI judgment.

From here, UVA students will collaborate with small- to medium-sized Virginia businesses and organizations on virtual employer projects via the Riipen platform. These projects are fully virtual, asynchronous, and free of charge, meaning that participants can work together to create timelines and deliverables that work for them.

Throughout the process, UVA staff are ready to offer project support and ensure success for all participants.

What is the timeline?

A timeline depicting the stages of AI4VA, including early recruitment, team formation, self-paced learning, projects, and retrospectives.

The AI4VA Model: The AI4VA Career Academy pairs UVA students with VA small business and local organizations to help them incorporate AI tools into their operations and strategy, while providing valuable hands-on, applied AI experiences students can leverage for career development. Phase 1: Students are grouped into teams and matched to employers. Phase 2: Students engage in self-paced AI skill building via Grow with Google. Phase 3: Working in teams, students partner with a Virginia-based small business to integrate AI tools into their operations. Phase 4: OEDI collects feedback from students and employers on increased AI literacy and integration.

Applications for students and employers are now closed.

Participating students are enrolled in Google's new AI Professional Certificate and engage in AI upskilling before launching into virtual employer projects on October 19. Here's a more detailed view:

September 1 - October 18: Participants complete asynchronous coursework on Google's brand-new AI Professional Certificate.
October 19 - November 20: Students work with local employers on virtual employer projects to help build new AI processes and deliverables.
December 3: Employers, students, and executives from Riipen convene with OEDI for a post-project celebration and retrospective.

Want to learn more about what AI4VA looks like for you? Visit the pages below.

An image featuring the shape of the state of Virginia that reads

AI4VA for Employers

Learn more about how to sign your business or organization up for an AI4VA project.

More About the Program

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AI4VA for Students

Learn how to sign up - or sign your student organization up - for an AI4VA project.

More About the Program

AI4VA Fast Facts

Get a quick glimpse of AI4VA participation across both iterations, including employers served and unique student cohorts who have participated.

canva.link

AI4VA Summer 2026 Overview

A glimpse of our inaugural 2026 iteration, from student and employer testimonials to facts and figures.

www.flipsnack.com

AI4VA News

AI4VA Shortlisted for 2026 QS Reimagine Awards

9/24/2026: AI4VA was shortlisted for the Power of Partnerships Award at the 2026 QS Reimagine Education Awards & Conference. Selected out of 2,200 applicants across 15 categories, AI4VA is in the top 25% of applicants for the award and will feature at the conference in London in December 2026.

www.linkedin.com

A lower angle of UVA's famed Rotunda amid a blue sky, flanked by trees on both sides.

University of Virginia Students Help Businesses Explore AI

9/10/2026: The AI4VA program at the University of Virginia connects students with small businesses and groups looking to experiment with AI. The first cohort involved 100 students and 16 organizations across the state.

www.govtech.com

AI4VA | University of Virginia College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences

9/8/2026: AI4VA: Learn how a few Arts & Sciences students spent their summers partnering with Virginia employers to implement AI-powered strategies in their business operations through UVA Online Education & Digital Innovation.

lnkd.in

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‘A win-win’: Students, employers reflect on first-ever AI4VA program - Cville Right Now

9/5/2026: In all, 100 UVA students were paired with 16 employers this past summer, helping provide AI-consulting for their businesses.

cvillerightnow.com

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Can Colleges Make All Their Students ‘AI Fluent’?

6/11/2026: Senior writer Scott Carlson discusses novel approaches to AI fluency at American universities, including UVA's AI Literacy and Action Lab and AI4VA.

www.chronicle.com

Lisa Gevelber of Grow with Google on Why AI Fluency Is the New Workforce Skill - Edtech Insiders

6/8/2026: In this episode of Edtech Insiders, Grow with Google Founder Lisa Gevelber dissects the growing importance of AI fluency to workforce readiness. At 10:14, Lisa discusses how AI4VA is using Google's new AI Professional Certificate to advance practical AI skills among UVA students.

www.buzzsprout.com

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AI4VA is an initiative of the Office of the Vice Provost for Online Education and Digital Innovation at the University of Virginia.