Climate Change AI Summer School 2023
The Climate Change AI summer school is designed to educate and prepare participants with a background in artificial intelligence (AI) and/or a background in a climate change-related field to tackle major climate problems using AI.
Our 2023 session consisted of two independent components: an open-to-all virtual program (which was held between June-August 2023) and a selective in-person program (which was held from August 14-18, 2023 in Montreal, Canada). Courses were conducted by members of Climate Change AI and world-renowned experts in AI and climate change.
Virtual Summer School
Recap
The 2023 Virtual Summer School took place from June 23 - July 26, 2023 with the goal of democratizing education at the intersection of climate change and AI. This open-to-all program had over 10,000 registrants who participated in educational events and made connections through our community platform. Lectures and tutorials covered more than 10 different topic areas including AI for Climate Science, AI for Power Systems, AI for Transportation, AI for Biodiversity, and more. The full program is listed below, and all the lectures are available online.
Schedule
Day 1 - Introduction to Climate Change and AI - June 23, 2023 View Recording
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| Lectures | |
| 4:30-5:30 PM UTC |
Tackling Climate Change with Machine Learning
Details: (click to expand)Speakers:
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| 5:30-6:30 PM UTC |
Introduction to Climate Change
Details: (click to expand)Speaker: Kamal Kapadia - Terra.do |
| 6:30-7:30 PM UTC |
Introduction to Machine Learning
Details: (click to expand)Speaker: Rasika Bhalerao - CCAI, Northeastern University |
Day 2 - AI for Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification - June 27, 2023 View Recording
| Time | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| Lectures | ||
| 2-3 PM UTC |
Measuring Progress under the Paris Agreement
Details: (click to expand)Speaker: Evan Sherwin - CCAI, Stanford University |
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| 3-4 PM UTC |
AI for Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification of Corporate GHG Emissions
Details: (click to expand)Speaker: Kasia Tokarska - CCAI |
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| Tutorials | ||
Estimating Coal Power Plant Operation From Satellite Images with Computer Vision
View Tutorial
Details: (click to expand)Tutorial Author: André Ferreira - TransitionZero |
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Day 3 - AI for Climate Science - June 29, 2023 View Recording
| Time | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| Lectures | ||
| 11 AM - 1 PM UTC |
AI for Climate Science
Details: (click to expand)Speaker: Kasia Tokarska - CCAI |
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| Tutorials | ||
Forecasting the El Niño/Southern Oscillation with Machine Learning
View Tutorial
Details: (click to expand)Tutorial Author: Ankur Mahesh - CCAI, University of California Berkeley |
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Day 4 - AI for Buildings and Cities - July 3, 2023 View Recording
| Time | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| Lectures | ||
| 11 AM - 1 PM UTC |
AI for Buildings and Cities
Details: (click to expand)Speaker: Marcus Voss - CCAI, Birds on Mars |
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| Tutorials | ||
Building Load Forecasting with Machine Learning
View Tutorial
Details: (click to expand)Tutorial Author: Marcus Voss - CCAI, Birds on Mars |
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Smart Meter Data Analytics Tutorial
View Tutorial
Details: (click to expand)Tutorial Authors:
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CityLearn Tutorial
View Tutorial
Details: (click to expand)Tutorial Author: Zoltan Nagy - University of Texas at Austin |
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Day 5 - AI for Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use - July 6, 2023 View Recording
| Time | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| Lectures | ||
| 5-7 PM UTC |
AI for Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use
Details: (click to expand)Speakers:
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| Tutorials | ||
Land Use and Land Cover Classification using Pytorch
View Part 1
View Part 2
Details: (click to expand)Tutorial Author: Isabelle Tingzon - CCAI, World Bank/GFDRR |
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Day 6 - AI for Biodiversity and Ecosystems - July 10, 2023 View Recording
| Time | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| Lectures | ||
| 3-4 PM UTC |
AI for Wildlife Conservation
Details: (click to expand)Speaker: Devis Tuia - École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) |
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| Tutorials | ||
Introduction to Camera Trap Recognition with Deep Learning
View Tutorial
Details: (click to expand)Tutorial Author: Zhongqi Miao - Microsoft |
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Day 7 - AI for Policy, Decision-Making, Economics, and Finance - July 12, 2023 View Recording
| Time | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| Tutorials | ||
Research Synthesis using NLP in the Field of Climate Change
View Part 1
View Part 2
Details: (click to expand)Tutorial Author: Daniel Spokoyny - CCAI, Carnegie Mellon University |
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Day 8 - AI for Energy Systems - July 14, 2023 View Recording
| Time | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| Lectures | ||
| 3-5 PM UTC |
AI for Power Systems
Details: (click to expand)Speakers:
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| Tutorials | ||
AI for Optimal Power Flow
View Tutorial
Details: (click to expand)Tutorial Authors:
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Day 9 - Impacts and Regulation of AI & Climate - July 19, 2023 View Recording
| Time | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| Lectures | ||
| 6-6:40 PM UTC |
GHG Impact Assessment of AI
Details: (click to expand)Speakers:
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| 6:40-7:20 PM UTC |
AI Ethics and Policy
Details: (click to expand)Speakers:
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| 7:20-8 PM UTC |
Climate Innovation Policy
Details: (click to expand)Speaker: Alice Lépissier - Brown University |
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| Tutorials | ||
Reducing your Climate Impact when Training ML Models
View Tutorial
Details: (click to expand)Tutorial Author: Mel Hanna - CCAI, DataRobot |
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Day 10 - AI for Transportation - July 21, 2023 View Recording
| Time | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| Lectures | ||
| 12-2 PM UTC |
AI for Transportation
Details: (click to expand)Speakers:
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| Tutorials | ||
Predicting Mobility Demand from Urban Features
View Tutorial
Details: (click to expand)Tutorial Authors:
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Day 11 - AI for Human and Social Systems - July 25, 2023 View Recording
| Time | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| Lectures | ||
| 9-11 PM UTC |
AI for Human and Social Systems
Details: (click to expand)Speaker: Hannah Druckenmiller - California Institute of Technology |
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| Tutorials | ||
Population Mapping and Sea Water Flood Risk Assessment in Egypt using Deep Learning, Sentinel-1 & 2, and Copernicus DEM
View Part 1
View Part 2
Details: (click to expand)Tutorial Author: Casper Fibaek - European Space Agency Φ-lab |
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Day 12 - Lightning talks - July 26, 2023 View Recording
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| Lectures | |
| 5:30-7 PM UTC |
Lightning talks on additional AI and climate change topics
Details: (click to expand)Speakers:
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Structure
The virtual program provided an overview of how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can be used to address climate change. Through lectures and tutorials, participants learned how AI/ML are employed across different climate-relevant fields/sectors, discuss important considerations for framing/scoping problems, and gain hands-on practice applying AI/ML to climate-relevant problems.
Although the program has now completed, links to recordings can be found in the schedule here.
In-person Summer School
Recap
In the first edition of the In-Person Summer School, in August 2023, CCAI welcomed 27 participants from 17 countries spanning 5 different continents for a week of collaboration and skill development co-hosted at Mila, a leading AI research institute located in Montreal, Canada.
Participants worked together in multidisciplinary groups to create project proposals that used machine learning to address specific climate change-related issues. From flood prediction to crop yield optimization, forecasting land degradation, and detecting high impact weather events, the projects tackled a range of pressing climate change problems with high potential for impact.
Participants also participated in training sessions with the aim of enhancing their ability to impactfully and responsibly shape their projects, and to assume leadership positions in the broader climate change and AI space. The sessions were led by experts from various backgrounds across industry and academia, and covered topics such as shaping and communicating pathways to impact, ethics and responsible AI, project evaluation, and pitching.
Schedule
| Session | Speaker(s) |
|---|---|
| Shaping Pathways to Impact |
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| Ethics, Equity, and Responsible AI |
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| Sniff Test: Evaluating Projects in AI & Climate |
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| Pitch Perfect: How to Craft a Project Pitch |
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Sponsors
Organizers
On behalf of Climate Change AI:
Amanda Sessim Parisenti
Daniel Spokoyny (CMU)
Erick Kapp (Climate Change AI)
Hari Prasanna Das (UC Berkeley)
Jade Eva Guisiano (UN Environment Programme)
Jeremy Irvin (Stanford)
Maria João Sousa (Cornell Tech, IST, ULisboa)
Melanie Hanna (DataRobot)
Millie Chapman (UC Berkeley)
Olivia Mendivil Ramos (OneThree Biotech)
Priya L. Donti (Climate Change AI)
Frequently Asked Questions
Virtual Summer School FAQs
Q: Is the virtual program free to attend?
A: Yes!
Q: What is the age requirement for the virtual program?
A: All participants must be at least 18 years of age.
Q: How do I access the virtual program?
A: When registering for the program, using this link, you will be prompted to join CCAI’s community platform on Circle. All information regarding lecture and tutorial live streams and recordings will be shared in this community platform.
Q: Will there be recordings?
A: We will aim to record and publish the content online after the summer school.
Q: What topics will be covered in the virtual program?
A: The virtual program will provide an overview of how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can be used to address climate change. Through lectures and tutorials, participants will learn how AI/ML are employed across different climate-relevant fields/sectors, discuss important considerations for framing/scoping problems, and gain hands-on practice applying AI/ML to climate-relevant problems. See more in the schedule above.
Q: Are there prerequisites for the virtual program?
A: Modules will be presented at varying levels of technical depth. For some of the modules, substantial knowledge about AI/ML, Python programming, or both is assumed. For other modules, only minimal prerequisite knowledge about AI/ML, Python programming, or both is assumed. Individual module prerequisites will be made clear prior to the summer school.
Q: Will self-study materials be provided to help me obtain prerequisite knowledge for the virtual program?
A: Yes we will aim to provide them when we release the full schedule.
Q: When will the exact schedule be posted?
A: The schedule can be found here.
Q: What is the deadline for registering?
A: Registration for the virtual summer school will remain open until the end of the program.
Q: Will CCAI provide certificates of attendance for the program?
A: CCAI will be providing certificates of attendance for all participants that meet the minimum attendance threshold. Any participant that attends 8 or more lectures (live or asynchronously via the recordings) and completes the corresponding feedback forms distributed at the end of each lecture will be eligible to receive a certificate.
Q: My question isn’t answered above. What should I do?
A: If you have a question not answered in the FAQs, please email summerschool+virtual@climatechange.ai. Due to the large number of inquiries, we may not be able to reply to all emails.
In-Person Summer School FAQs
Q: What is the date and location of the in-person program?
A: August 14-18, 2023 at Mila - Quebec AI Institute in Montreal, Canada.
Q: Who is eligible to apply for the in-person program?
A: Anyone over 18 years of age is eligible to apply.
Q: What is the application deadline for the in-person program?
A: The deadline to apply is January 31, 2023 23:59 AoE (Anywhere on Earth).
Q: Is there an application fee for the in-person program?
A: No! All applicants who fill out the application form will be considered.
Q: Will food, lodging, travel, and/or visa application costs be covered for accepted applicants?
A: Accepted applicants will have the opportunity to apply for financial assistance to cover some of the costs to attend the summer school. Before accepted participants need to confirm their attendance, we will let them know which costs will be covered for everyone and we will also let accepted participants know if they have been awarded financial aid.
Q: What will the schedule of the in-person program be like?
A: The in-person program will give participants the opportunity to work on collaborative projects together in multi-disciplinary teams. The program will also have social activities to help build connections between participants.
Q: Will there be opportunities for networking and collaboration at the in-person program?
A: Yes absolutely!
Q: What is the relationship between the virtual and in-person programs?
A: All applicants to the in-person program will automatically be registered for the virtual program as well.
Q: My question isn’t answered above. What should I do?
A: If you have a question not answered in the FAQs, please email summerschool+inperson@climatechange.ai. Due to the large number of inquiries, we may not be able to reply to all emails.