How Our Students Are Leveraging AI in Real-World Applications

In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, our students are at the forefront, applying their academic knowledge to real-world challenges. A shining example of this is Ryan Brennan, President of the Supply Chain Management student club, who spent the summer working with Querri, a small yet innovative tech start-up working to turn junk data into useful information. Their goal is to use language modeling to turn trash into treasure. Ryan met Querri during their tech demonstration at Dig South and began discussing his data science ideas and concepts. They were impressed enough with his insights that they asked him to join the company. (Afterward, Ryan told me it was one of the best experiences of his academic career.)

During his internship at Querri, Ryan engaged in the practical application of AI to supply chain management. He explored how data that is currently difficult to utilize could be turned into a conversation. He worked with supply chain companies to bridge the gap between the current state of information technology in supply chain and the future of data.

One area Ryan excelled in was prompt engineering. Prompt engineering involves crafting detailed and effective instructions to guide AI systems toward delivering precise, on-target results. Through his prompts to AI, Ryan learned how to communicate effectively with the AI, breaking down complex ideas into smaller, actionable prompts. He paid attention to how the AI responds, tweaking questions to keep the system from veering off into irrelevant topics. This method of asking clarifying questions and refining instructions ensured that the AI remained focused and efficient in providing valuable insights—without requiring extensive manual correction.

This hands-on experience underscored the significance of AI in saving time and performing the grunt work traditionally done by humans. It highlighted how AI can streamline operations and provide feedback that might otherwise be overlooked. Ryan was able to get this internship because he seized the opportunity to express interest in prompt engineering and show how he could effectively guide AI systems.

This post is a bit about AI, but more about the benefits Ryan gained from engaging in the opportunities we offer in the Business School. Ryan not only raised his hand early to get a ticket to Dig South (truth be known, he reminded me to seek out tickets for students), but he showed up, stayed all day, and made as many connections as he could. In presiding over the Supply Chain club, he hopes to get more students to take advantage of our immense and available network.

Disclaimer: Ryan and I wrote this using Co-Pilot. Ryan tweaked my prompts as I wrote to make my prompts more effective, and then he used ChatGPT to refine the overall structure and flow of the article.