Amii’s Talent Bursary brings over 800 AI enthusiasts to Edmonton

We're thrilled at the success of Upper Bound last week, an event that brought together thousands of researchers, industry professionals and enthusiasts to talk everything AI.

One of the most important parts of the week is our Talent Bursary Program. Supported by our generous sponsors, the Talent Bursary Program enables AI researchers and professionals from around the world to travel to Edmonton and attend Upper Bound in-person with an all-access pass and financial support for travel and accommodation costs provided by Amii.

This year Amii’s Talent Bursary Program awarded over $500,000 to support over 800 recipients from 22 countries, including Ethiopia, South Korea, Columbia, Germany, Lebanon, Turkey, Iran, Japan, Egypt, Nigeria, France, Peru and more.

By the Numbers

• 833 Talent Bursaries awarded for a total value of $500,000
• 81% of Talent Bursary recipients self-identified as a marginalized group in STEM:
  • 24.6% - Women or Marginalized Gender
  • 26% - Indigenous, Black, Person of Colour
  • 31% - Recent newcomers to Canada
• 676 Online Talent Bursaries awarded
  • With the Talent Bursary Program fully awarded, Amii made an additional $50,000 in Online Access Talent Bursaries available to qualified applicants.
• 1503 total talent engaged at Upper Bound 2023
  • 200% year/year growth in the program

“Upper Bound is a chance for the world’s AI community to get together, discuss, learn and share ideas — and it’s been a blast to share the best of what Amii and Alberta have to offer in terms of AI science and its applications,” says Cam Linke, CEO of Amii. “Amii is proud to be able to welcome the global community and provide our Talent Bursaries to so many folks around the world. With our second year officially in the books, I thank everyone for coming to Upper Bound and I look forward to seeing you all next year.”

Amii’s Talent Bursary program aims to bring the global AI community together to facilitate future collaborations and enable career growth opportunities. Talent bursary recipients were directly connected to over 30 companies, including event partners, Amii clients and home organizations of Upper Bound speakers.

Last year Amii awarded over 500 Talent Bursaries from around the world, with 69% of recipients self-identified as members underrepresented in STEM.

Upper Bound presented over 100 events in Edmonton’s downtown core, including an academic symposium, sessions, demos, and daily social and networking events — and is positioned to be one of Canada’s largest gatherings of AI talent. Upper Bound is slated to return to Edmonton May 21 - 24, 2024. For more information, visit upperbound.ai.

Upper Bound is proudly presented by Amii. One of Canada’s three centres of AI excellence as part of the Pan-Canadian AI strategy, Amii is an Alberta-based, non-profit institute that supports world-leading research in artificial intelligence and machine learning and translates scientific advancement into industry adoption.