AI4VA for Students
AI4VA provides UVA students with the opportunity to complete a virtual consulting project with a Virginia small business, organization, or nonprofit. Along the way, you will gain free industry-recognized credentials courtesy of Grow With Google, as well as hands-on experience to add to your résumé or use in interviews.
Why participate?
As AI skills become more in-demand for employers, students need experiences that help them responsibly and efficiently hone AI skills. However, between coursework, extracurricular experiences, sports, and part-time work, many students are unsure where to start. AI4VA aims to bring critical career-connected experiences to you while helping Virginia small businesses build AI capacity and literacy.
As part of our broader Career Academies initiative, AI4VA will pair industry-recognized AI skill certificates via Grow with Google with employer projects on the Riipen platform.
The best part? AI4VA is entirely asynchronous, virtual, and free of charge. Over the summer, you will pair with fellow students and work with a local employer on a schedule that works for you, all while gaining practical AI know-how and experience.
Project Tracks
AI4VA projects fall into five categories, or tracks, tailored to your unique skills and businesses' strategic needs. Click on each header to learn more about what each track entails and what a potential project may look like.
AI in Organizational Strategy & Impact
- Dig into workflows and financial processes to spot where AI can help leadership make smarter, more confident decisions.
- Build a roadmap for using AI to anticipate future needs and allocate resources and grants more effectively.
- Research and recommend AI tools that can unlock new growth opportunities or expand the organization's impact.
Example project:
Partner with a small business to identify where AI tools can help leadership plan ahead, make data-driven decisions, and find new opportunities for growth. Common challenges you might encounter include over-reliance on gut instinct instead of data and staff being stretched too thin. Your deliverables may include an AI-assisted growth opportunity report, simple forecasting models, and recommendations for automating repetitive reporting tasks.
AI in Data & Analytics
- Evaluate AI tools that can clean and organize messy data (i.e donor records, program data) to cut down on manual entry.
- Explore how AI can help summarize complex data and power dashboards that make decision-making clearer and faster.
Example project:
Partner with a small business to assess the quality of their data and figure out where AI can turn it into something actionable. Common challenges include disorganized or incomplete records and difficulty making sense of what the numbers actually mean. Your deliverables may include a data quality review, an AI-assisted dashboard design, and a simple predictive model to help the business make smarter, more informed decisions going forward.
AI in Operations & Process Automation
- Map out time-consuming workflows and recommend AI tools that can reduce bottlenecks and free up staff time.
- Identify opportunities to simplify administrative, HR, or hiring processes and help teams collaborate more efficiently.
Example project:
Partner with a small business to pinpoint where day-to-day operations are slowing things down and how AI can help. Common challenges include manual data entry, inefficient scheduling, and approval processes that create unnecessary delays. Your deliverables may include a workflow automation plan, a visual map of current processes with AI-powered recommendations, and a practical implementation guide for putting those improvements into action.
AI in Marketing & E-Commerce
- Assess tools that make marketing more personalized and targeted for the right audiences.
- Identify drop-off points such as abandoned carts or weak search visibility where AI can quickly improve results.
- Find repetitive tasks (like writing ad copy or product descriptions) that AI can handle at scale to speed up content production.
Example project:
You'll partner with a small business to identify where AI can strengthen their marketing — from producing content faster to reaching more customers online. Common challenges include inconsistent social media posting, low search visibility, and the time it takes to create content from scratch. Your deliverables may include a search ranking review, practical content recommendations, and a content calendar with AI tool suggestions to make the process more sustainable.
AI Literacy & Enablement
- Create resources and clear guidelines to help employees use AI tools responsibly and effectively in their day-to-day work.
- Coach teams on prompt writing, responsible AI practices, and building confidence with new tools.
Example project:
Partner with a small business to assess how ready their staff are to start using AI and help build the internal capacity to make it happen. Common challenges include employees not knowing how to get the most out of AI tools or lacking guidelines for using them responsibly. Your deliverables may include an AI readiness assessment, a plain-language usage guide, and a practical training roadmap to help the whole team adopt AI confidently and consistently.
Resources
Feel free to bring the following resources to club meetings or use them to explore how AI4VA can help you build career readiness on your own time.
AI4VA Slides
AI4VA One-Pager
Visit this page to view an AI4VA one-pager and share with peers.
Get Started
Ready to build critical AI skills and enrich your community?
Fill out the AI4VA interest form at this link.
AI4VA is an initiative of the Office of the Vice Provost for Online Education and Digital Innovation at the University of Virginia.
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AI4VA
Learn more about our new AI4VA initiative this summer, including details and resources for employers and students alike.