Artificial Intelligence students reflect on award of scholarship grants

Two Artificial Intelligence (AI) students from the University of Wolverhampton have spoken about being awarded scholarship grants to help fund research projects.  

Wendy Lomas (studying for a PhD in Computational Bioacoustics and AI) and Temitope Adeyelu (studying for a Master’s in Artificial Intelligence) have been awarded grants by the University in collaboration with OpenBright.  

OpenBright award grants to help women develop university-level and innovative research projects in computing and tech-related subjects. These grants are aimed at students studying for degrees or postgraduate qualifications in areas such as software engineering, data science, digital media, artificial intelligence and robotics. 

Wendy, in the first year of her PhD and awarded just under £5,000, is working on a project around ‘Environmentally Sustainable Artificial Intelligence Models to Advance and Augment Bioacoustic Monitoring and Surveying of Ecosystems for Wildlife Conservation and Carbon Cycle Monitoring.’  

Temitope, awarded more than £1,100, is working on a project of ‘Revolutionising Legal Literacy through Generative AI.’  

Reflecting on the scholarship award, Wendy said: “To have this endorsement has given me confidence in my project and helped me to focus on what I want to achieve. It’s also enabled me to take up opportunities, such as networking at conferences and forming new collaborations, and fund some of the hardware needed to enhance the project.  

“I'm very lucky to be able to work on a project that I love, that sits beautifully with my values, challenges me and could have a broad impact.  

“We call ourselves the University of Opportunity and that has certainly been my experience as a mature student.”  

Temitope said: “When I saw the congratulations email to confirm I had been selected to receive a grant, it felt like all my hard work had finally paid off and I gained a new sense of confidence in my abilities. 

“The grant has helped fund trips to conferences which has opened my eyes to new opportunities. I was able to get a laptop that had a much stronger processing power, so coding has become more seamless and smoother. It’s been a game changer when it comes to coding efficiently. 

“My goal is to work as a Machine Learning (ML) engineer in roles where I know that my work will have a ripple effect in the betterment of humanity.  

"For instance, ML Engineers that work in bioinformatics train models that we can use to efficiently determine the sequence of DNAs and RNAs which in turn helps doctors to find cures more quickly and efficiently to diseases and properly treat and diagnose patients.”  

For anyone interested in studying courses at the School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences, visit our website or book a place for one of our forthcoming Open Days.   To find out more about OpenBright visit their website here.