IMSA’s Vision 2033: Unpacking the AI Center Prototype

At the beginning of the 2023–24 school year, the IMSA Board of Trustees, IMSA President Dr. Evan Glazer, and the IMSA Cabinet unveiled the Vision 2033 Plan, encompassing five holistic goals—the AI Center, Redesigning Residential Life, Constructing New Diplomas, Partnerships with Industry and Higher Education, and Innovation Hubs—for the school over the next ten years. Vision 2033 collaborates with external stakeholders to build a future-proof foundation for the school as the educational landscape evolves. This article encompasses the progress of the IMSA AI Center and interviews the AI Center team, including Mrs. Britta McKenna, the director of the AI Center this year; Mrs. Tami Armstrong, the Chief Public Affairs and Development Officer; and Neev Patel and Rachel Tsang, the two AI Center student interns. 

Mrs. McKenna’s Interview:

The Acronym primarily asked Mrs. McKenna for further insight into how she conducted the development process for the prototype of the AI Center this year.

Mrs. McKenna initially explained how she was contacted by IMSA to take on her position directing the AI Center under a year-long contract based on her experience leading the project to develop IN2 years ago. When she began leading the project, there was no concrete foundation planned for the AI Center nor was there any agenda for the specific programs it would drive, however, Mr. McKenna stated that she “prefers the blank canvas start” and that outside of the Vision 2033 Slide Deck, she wanted to experiment with the possibilities, just as she did for IN2. The director then spoke about the formation of the AI Theme Team in November 2023 and the two interns who would lead the AI Center’s formation from the student perspective. 

One of the AI Theme Team’s earliest successes was the partnership with Flint AI which was piloted throughout the 2024–25 school year and was quickly followed by plans to start AI Bytes and the AI Center intersession in December and January this school year. For information regarding the specifics behind these programs, the AI Center Year Updates cover the intricate breakdown of these programs. “Keep in mind that until April 1st, all this planning and the AI Center itself were running in the Alpha Conference room in IN2,” said Mrs. McKenna as she explained the transition into acquiring room A148 for the AI Center. She aimed to use a similar temporary location strategy as with IN2’s development, as “IN2 actually started as IN1, a computer lab where all the prototyping was planned before IN2 was set up.” Currently, the room features a collaborative corner, showcases the works of 24 students with SIRs in AI and 6 AI-related projects in collaboration with IN2 (setting baseline statistics for IMSA to track over the next 10 years), and has held a faculty reading seminar led by Dr. Namrata Pandya and Dr. Eric Rettberg on “The Worlds I See,” a Princeton pre-read novel reflecting on the origins of AI. 

Mrs. Armstrong’s Further Comments:

The Acronym asked both Mrs. Armstrong and Mrs. McKenna to provide insights on the future of the AI Center, particularly regarding the 2024–25 school year.

Mrs. Armstrong explains how “this year, the AI Center has made grand strides as far as many things can go in just one year at IMSA.” This prototype will likely undergo extensive changes that cannot be anticipated just yet, as Mrs. McKenna’s contract will end soon. However, the AI Center has made notable progress for the next year, despite the few uncertainties regarding the new hiring position for an AI Lab Manager. This staff position is designed to take over Mrs. McKenna’s work and continue to expand the AI Center for the foreseeable future, and Mrs. McKenna mentions that “one thing the AI Center could have by the next year is an opportunity board, which serves as a centralized location for IMSA to be informed of AI-related projects and research available, as well as track the future growth of student development in AI. 

Mrs. Armstrong concludes this portion of the interview by explaining that IMSA’s evolution is a trial-and-error process, and it is essential that the Board of Trustees, the Cabinet, Dr. Glazer, and everyone who is leading the way for Vision 2033’s success focus on one step at a time. Gaining as much perspective as possible in this period is also necessary to build on the tentative roadmap that IMSA has planned out, and for the AI Center, this has led to the possibility of incorporating AI certification for IMSA students.

The Intern Perspective:

The third and final interview for the AI Center focused on the student perspective of working in the AI Center. We recently interviewed Neev Patel (25′) and Rachel Tsang (25′) regarding their experience and this is what they had to say:

“Firstly, we are passionate to continue the AI Intern program and involve the future students of IMSA in the development of the AI Center.”

In terms of groundwork, the AI Center interns this year focused on collaborating with stakeholders and large tech corporations to boost the development of the AI platform that Mrs. McKenna projected. The interns aim to partner with Vertex AI from Google to build the platform. Finally, the interns are excited to unveil the AI Bulletin Board, which can be found in Launch AI (A148) and the plans for the digital resource center.

You can explore all of this at the new AI Center, which officially launched on May 22, 2024.