Mila and Alloprof: A winning partnership for students
At Alloprof, we believe that new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) make excellent resources for addressing school-related challenges. But how can we ensure that every student receives the most appropriate support for their grade level, learning style, and learning difficulties?
Mila – Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute and Alloprof have joined forces to answer this big question with the help of AI.
This partnership will enable both organizations to develop high-impact applied research projects in the area of machine learning. Alloprof brings to the table more than 25 years of expertise and extensive knowledge of the learning habits and academic challenges of young people, while Mila will be able to leverage its team of interdisciplinary scientists to find new applications for AI in an educational context. Together, the two organizations have what it takes to make a real difference.
“We think big at Alloprof! After AI came onto the scene, we quickly realized its potential for improving the user experience of our platform, addressing learning difficulties more quickly, and boosting the confidence and perseverance of young people,” explains Sandrine Faust, executive director of Alloprof. “This is a great opportunity to work on meaningful projects with the team at Mila, which is known worldwide for its contributions to AI.”
“Mila relies heavily on collaboration and knowledge transfer to make advances in AI that will benefit all of society. Education is absolutely an area that can benefit from breakthroughs in deep learning. We are very pleased with this partnership with Alloprof, which is perhaps one of the most used homework help tools among elementary and high school students in Quebec,” says Stéphane Létourneau, Executive Vice-President of Mila.
The two organizations have already used modern deep learning techniques to enhance the Help Zone, an expert-moderated forum where students can ask academic questions seven days a week.
AI technology allows Alloprof to help students even more quickly by providing personalized assistance instantaneously. The new version of the Help Zone, developed with the Mila team, has significantly improved the relevance of suggested content and provides more direct access to concept sheets with the information students are looking for. The model now suggests up to three concept sheets that are relevant to the student’s question and grade level within half a second.
That is just one example of what AI can do for young people. Mila and Alloprof hope that this partnership will lead to the development of additional projects along the same lines to give Quebec students even more study tools and help them succeed in school.