At the opening of the new laboratory, representatives of Stanford University’s AI Tinkery will be in attendance. The programme will include a session of the Ministry of Education and Science’s AI Think Tank, an opportunity to meet the community Riga Tech Girls, participate in a sustainable fashion workshop led by the youth association BOURZMA, and unwind at a rave on the fourth floor of the library. Music from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. will be provided by a DJ from the RTU Student Parliament.
Participants can register for the opening event here: https://luma.com/ou2x93fj
The opening event is being organised in cooperation with the international Design Factory Global Network (DFGN).
“theaiLAB is a place where students can do more than just talk about artificial intelligence. They can work with it, build, make mistakes, and try again. At Stanford, we saw how powerfully this approach encourages young people to create, and we want to bring that mindset to Latvia,” says Professor Elīna Miķelsone, Head of the RTU Design Factory. She emphasizes that the laboratory’s motto is “Build. Explore. Iterate.”
The new laboratory will be open to anyone interested in gaining hands-on experience with AI, regardless of their field of study or previous experience. Participants will be able to develop their own projects, take part in various challenges, including those proposed by industry partners, and engage in community activities.
Baiba Āriņa, Director of the RTU Scientific Library, notes:
“A library should become a place where students not only gain knowledge but also discover new opportunities, test ideas, experiment, and move one step closer to shaping the future. theaiLAB is a space where the library and artificial intelligence create meaningful synergy and unlock new possibilities for creativity.”
The idea for the new laboratory emerged in the spring of this year when representatives of Riga Technical University, as part of a delegation from the Ministry of Education and Science, visited Stanford University and learned about the work of AI Tinkery. In August, the Stanford team visited RTU, and the concept became a reality.
