MIAI Milestones: First Graduating Cohort, Hackathon Success, and New AI Topics Courses
The Master of Interdisciplinary Artificial Intelligence (MIAI) program has no events planned for this Fall — but it’s been a busy year. Here’s a look back at recent milestones, what our first graduates have to say, and what’s new for students heading into the program.
Recent Highlights
- Selected groups of MIAI students participated in the National AI Hackathon (Agency 2026 Ottawa).
- The program graduated its first student cohort this summer.
New: AI-Focused Topics Courses
We’re also excited to highlight our new AI-focused topics courses. Through the MIA 5150 Topics in Interdisciplinary AI elective series, we offer dynamic courses throughout the academic year that align with emerging industry trends and rapidly evolving technologies. Recent offerings have focused on designing and leveraging Generative AI and Large Language Models to develop practical solutions from the ground up.
In Their Own Words: Our First Graduates
“What I really appreciated is how everything ties into real-world decision making. I’ve been consistently applying what I’ve learned directly to my work, which made the experience more meaningful.”
“I wasn’t just learning concepts, I was applying them. The interdisciplinary approach helped me connect AI, business intelligence, project management, and data science to real-world decision making, making everything immediately relevant to my work.”
— Darjem Ponce, 2026 MIAI Graduate
“I walked away not as a coder, but as a leader who can now evaluate AI proposals with genuine insight.”
“The projects I built along the way were not homework. They were prototypes of the future I want to lead.”
“You can wait and be managed by algorithms you don’t understand, or you can learn to lead with AI, to shape the change instead of being shaped by it.”
— Zi Alps, 2026 MIAI Graduate
Stay Connected
Follow the MIAI community on LinkedIn: uOttawa Master of Interdisciplinary Artificial Intelligence (MIAI)
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