University’s AI experts host youth conference on campus

Dozens of students from local schools and colleges attended a conference at the University of Huddersfield on Artificial Intelligence.

Organised by the University’s School of Computing and Engineering, the AI Youth Conference was a chance for young students to hear from some of the University’s experts and to provide an authentic experience of university-level teaching, research and discussion.

It follows the creation of an Institute of Applied AI at the University, set up to harness the expertise of these academics, with the aim of becoming a leader in the field.

Held on campus in the Spark Jones building, the conference began with a keynote address from Professor of Agentic AI Richard Hill, the Lead for Applied AI for the School of Computing and Engineering, who introduced four personas that formed the structure of the day, which were:

• The Detective – exploring Cybersecurity, threat detection, and digital forensics
• The Explorer – venturing into Computer Vision and autonomous systems
• The Linguist – working with Large Language Models and natural language understanding
• The Logician – uncovering the principles behind Symbolic AI and reasoning systems

A series of workshops were led by Dr Minsi Chen, Dr Muhammad Hussain, Professor Simon Parkinson, Dr Ilias Tachmazidis and Dr George Bargiannis, who spoke about their research, as well as presenting live demonstrations and hands-on activities that highlighted how deeply AI is embedded in modern technology.

Students also had the chance to try out tools, ask questions, and think critically about how these systems are designed and used.

The conference concluded with a panel discussion chaired by Professor John Murray, the University’s Pro-Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning, on the topic of Building a Career in the Age of AI. Questions from students ranged from the future of AI employment and the ethics of automation to practical guidance on running AI tools at home and using them responsibly in everyday life.

More than 50 students were in attendance from colleges comprising Greenhead College in Huddersfield, UTC Sheffield, and William Henry Smith School.

Dr Duke Gledhill, Senior Lecturer within the Department of Computer Science and Director of Student Recruitment for the School of Computing and Engineering, commented: “It was a fantastic day full of curiosity, conversation, and genuine enthusiasm. Events like this remind us how important it is to continue working in partnership with our local colleges and schools to support progression into higher education and future digital careers.

“We’re already planning next year’s conference - and we look forward to welcoming even more future innovators to campus.”

Professor Murray, who heads the new Institute of Applied AI, commented: “I was honoured to chair the Q&A Panel, with excellent questions from the students to get the panel thinking. I believe this further demonstrates how the creation of the Institute of Applied AI is well-positioned to support our next generation of AI experts, clearly some of whom were in the audience.”