By joining Chicago Tech Circle, you can prepare to add value to companies’ work in data and AI.

Step 1: Build skills in the classroom

Chicago Tech Circle offers a one-semester data and AI course for UIC undergraduates. Start with little to no experience. Leave with the confidence to take on small projects that require data or AI skills. You’ll learn in a fun, welcoming environment where team projects let you think critically. Gain experience and confidence.

In our data + AI course, you’ll learn:

Leveraging AI effectively and ethically

Organizing, cleaning, and exploring data

Quantitative and statistical reasoning

Predictive modeling and machine learning

Communicating data and creating value

Step 2: Apply your skills in industry

Once you’ve succeeded in our data + AI course, develop your skills further through an industry immersion. A Chicago organization will involve you and your fellow student team members in projects that allow you to understand a problem, gather information, develop and test solutions, and communicate your results.

Your experience may involve growing sectors such as:

  • Energy: How can we use data and AI to address the energy needs of tomorrow?
  • Fintech: What new applications might improve financial performance and personalize products or services?
  • Health: How can we use data and AI to level the playing field for patients and move toward equity in healthcare?

“Being able to experiment with a program like CTC, even if you are new to this area, is extremely worthwhile as it allows you to gain exposure to the industry within a supportive environment, all while you build hands-on experience that shapes the trajectory of your career.”
—Fernanda Villalpando, UIC ’25, past CTC project manager for Argonne National Laboratory

Step 3: Join the talent marketplace

When you’re familiar with data and AI skills and have had experience working on an industry project, you’re ready to join our CTC talent pool! You will have a profile in our talent database, and Chicago companies may consider you for various kinds of paid work: short-term consulting projects, micro-internships, full-length internships, and more.

Most students enter the CTC talent marketplace by completing our data + AI course and an industry immersion, but our marketplace welcomes students who have intermediate or advanced data and AI skills that they developed elsewhere, too.

Questions? Get in touch: chicagotechcircle@uic.edu.