Brooklyn College Funds 20 AI Education Projects Across Campus
Brooklyn College is launching a coordinated set of AI initiatives funded by the City University of New York, with projects spanning business, computer science, the arts, mathematics, and education. The programs aim to prepare students for roles in an AI-driven workforce while addressing practical challenges like student food insecurity.
Business School Integrates AI Into Core Curriculum
The Koppelman School of Business is piloting a capstone course called "The Integrated Edge: AI, Decision-Making, and Business Strategy" in summer 2026. The course breaks down traditional silos by requiring students to apply accounting, finance, economics, and management simultaneously to real business problems.
Four faculty members lead different modules: economic forecasting, AI-assisted auditing, corporate finance, and strategic integration. Students work with professional AI platforms used in industry while learning to evaluate AI outputs for bias and accuracy-what the college calls a "human-in-the-loop" approach.
Nearly 400 business students are also participating in IBM's AI Experiential Learning Lab, a 10-week program where students build AI solutions using IBM's watsonx platform. Participants earn IBM-recognized digital credentials and create portfolio projects for job applications.
Through an initiative called "AI Literacy in Business Education," Koppelman students completed approximately 700 IBM AI-related certificates in fall 2025, followed by over 1,000 in spring 2026. The certificates cover generative AI, agentic AI, enterprise design thinking, and cybersecurity fundamentals.
Faculty Boot Camps and Student Support Services
Associate Professor Ngoc Pham is running a semester-long AI boot camp series that brings in industry experts from IBM and other companies. A joint session with NYU's Tandon School of Engineering launched a collaboration between the institutions, with students taking on leadership roles as event moderators.
The college is also applying AI to address food insecurity, one of the most pressing challenges for its students. Associate Professor Laura Rifkin is exploring smart vending systems that would offer discreet access to food outside traditional pantry hours, reducing stigma and scheduling barriers.
Behind the scenes, agentic AI could help pantry staff analyze demand patterns, optimize inventory, and coordinate donations. The effort responds to a critical need: food pantry use has grown fourfold in recent years, and about 40 percent of CUNY students experience food insecurity.
Teacher Preparation and Foundational AI Literacy
In the School of Education, Associate Professor Lulu Song is integrating AI into coursework for early childhood teachers working with dual language learners-a population representing nearly half of young children in New York State. Students learn to use AI tools while critically evaluating outputs for accuracy and bias.
Other projects include AI-supported math tutoring, an integrated English and computer science minor, and a workshop series for faculty on AI ethics and curriculum design. Film professor Alexandra Juhasz is leading "Faking It," a global workshop series examining authenticity and human connection in an AI-mediated world, with sessions planned in New York and Hong Kong.
The breadth of projects reflects an approach that combines technical skill-building with ethical reasoning. Students across disciplines are learning to work with AI tools while understanding their limitations and potential harms.
For educators, these initiatives offer a concrete model for how institutions can integrate AI for Education across departments while maintaining focus on student outcomes. The projects also highlight the growing importance of Generative AI and LLM literacy in professional preparation programs.
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