Around 40 students from the University of Illinois Chicago, Louisiana Tech University, and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette have become the first graduates of the AI Leaders program, earning the AI Leaders Micro-Credential after completing the workforce-focused AI literacy course built around WordPress and open source contributions.
Program background
The AI Leaders program was introduced in February through a partnership between the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), Automattic, and the WordPress Foundation. Designed as a workforce-focused AI literacy initiative, the program combines hands-on training in generative AI with WordPress and open-source contributions to prepare students for careers requiring practical AI skills.
The AI Leaders program celebrates its first graduates
The AI Leaders program celebrated its inaugural cohort during a graduation ceremony held in Chicago on June 23. The project portfolios developed by the graduates have also been published, offering a closer look at the work completed throughout the program.
During the graduation ceremony, AI Leaders founder Blake Bertuccelli-Booth reflected on the program’s origins, saying it stemmed from AI-related job opportunities shared by Mary Hubbard, who challenged those involved to develop a curriculum that could prepare students for those roles.
We really started this first cohort not quite knowing how will do this because AI is so new. How do you build a curriculum that is constantly going to change and adapt.
He explained that the challenge led to the development of an open-source platform like WordPress that could continually evolve alongside the curriculum, allowing participants to engage with up-to-date content. The platform brought together folks from UIC, Louisiana Tech University, and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, as well as members of the public.
Reflecting on the inaugural cohort, Bertuccelli-Booth said:
And where are today is we have the first class of finalists who went through a pretty exhaustive series of lessons on a brand new platform that was evolving as the course evolved and got to the end, muscled through it all, gave us lots and lots of feedback, built a community, got to the end, and at the end they built their own WordPress site
Addressing the graduates, WordPress Executive Director Mary Hubbard described the inaugural cohort as the beginning of the initiative, saying, “this is just the beginning.” She said the curriculum had been shared with agencies and employers for feedback, alongside the input provided by participants, to help refine future iterations of the program.
Hubbard also revealed that she had shared the AI Leaders website with Matt Mullenweg, who had reviewed the curriculum and provided feedback. She said some of that feedback had already been incorporated into the course, adding, “we already adjusting some of the course curriculum based on his feedback and I’m excited to see where it goes.”
Students who completed the program received the AI Leaders Micro-Credential, a credential that employers can verify, along with $1,000 stipend funded through a donation from Automattic and UIC. The graduation also brought the inaugural cohort together with employers and agencies.
Blake Bertuccelli-Booth also shared more pictures from the graduation ceremony.
Automattic outlines its long-term education commitment
The AI Leaders initiative is one component of Automattic’s wider education efforts. As part of that commitment, Automattic has pledged $500 million worth of hosting accounts over the next five years to support open source learning, workforce development, and future web contributors.
Explaining the rationale behind the initiative, Automattic said, “ We’re investing in this because access to AI and open source skills shouldn’t depend on where you live or what you can afford. The first cohort proves the model works. Now we want to help it grow.”
The second AI Leaders cohort is expected to launch soon, with application details to be announced soon.