What an amazing experience, my TeensInAI Summary— Alessio Di Bon

I first walked into the accelerator being very nervous and feeling like I wouldn’t be good enough. Looking back on that I laugh. All the other teens were really nice and the mentors helped me a lot. I also remember thinking that I would really want to learn a lot and change the world. Thanks to Elena and her team this was possible.

The first three days we were design thinking. I have done this before in DT at school but never in so much depth. This program really opened my eyes about how it should be done and applied in the real world. Furthermore, it was really fun to let my creative side of me out and do what I wanted.

I must admit that the food was very good and everyday my team and I would be guessing what surprise they’d have in store for us.

The days that followed were very interesting. My team pivoted idea about three times which was fun to explore different areas but also quite infuriating when we realised we didn’t have the required datasets. We first chose energy wastage then moved to homelessness then to wildfires took a halt at breast cancer.

Over the days where we developed our product, my favourite part was listening to all the talks.

My personal favourite was listening to a talk about NASA by Diana Acosta and learning about an AI they have created to locate tools on the International Space Station!

I must also give a huge thanks to Peter, who was very helpful. He lead the beginners machine learning group, where we learned a lot. He was kind, supportive and he created a fun and relaxed environment. I feel like he has really inspired me to continue learning to code at home as well.

Once all the teens had gotten comfortable with each other, we would all play cards at lunch which was a nice relief after the important work we had been doing. We made sure to involve everyone and I feel that I have made some real friends for life.

Then the demo day arrived and I could tell every single person was very nervous. But for me, after learning the soft skills and the practice of our presentation, I felt that I was in my element.

We made a successful product that could be implemented into the real world and I am very proud of what we made!

Before the course there was no way I would’ve been able to do what I did. I learnt the most I ever have in two weeks. Doing the TeensInAI Accelerator has opened me up to the tech world but also opened so many doors for me. It really has been the two best weeks of my summer.

Thanks to Elena, Peter, mentors, speakers and team.

What an amazing experience!

Alessio Di Bon