Meet AI student innovators Sam and Faith
This story was first published as part of the spring 2025 edition of The AI Journey at ASU.
At Arizona State University, the pursuit of knowledge extends far beyond the classroom. While students gain expertise in lecture halls and labs, ASU Enterprise Technology is breaking new ground by offering innovative opportunities to apply that knowledge in real-world scenarios.
Before they graduate, ASU students are stepping into unique environments that bridge the gap between academia and industry, unlocking their potential as changemakers.
Through partnerships, initiatives and opportunities to innovate – both in and outside of the classroom – students are exploring how to advance cutting-edge technologies while gaining the skills they need to live, learn and thrive.
Samuel Ninsiima and Abang Faith Timoh are two international students employed at ASU today. Both are part of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars program at ASU and enrolled in the Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence in Business from the W. P. Carey School of Business — the United States’ first AI graduate degree from a business school.
Since August 2024, they have been working with the AI Acceleration Team at ASU Enterprise Technology, exploring how their interests intersect with AI with a shared purpose in using the technology to solve real-world problems and make it more accessible.
"By applying classroom knowledge to real-world scenarios, ASU students like Faith and Samuel enhance their educational experiences and gain invaluable insights into diverse career paths," said Elizabeth Reilley, executive director of AI Acceleration at ASU's Enterprise Technology.
Sam and Faith took very different paths to the same program, but their passion for impact has aligned them in meaningful ways. Faith’s business acumen and knack for user-focused solutions offered a sharp contrast to Sam’s technical depth in machine learning and data analysis.
Prior to starting at ASU, Sam worked for three years as a software engineer in his home country of Uganda. Joining the Data Science chapter of the team, Sam is able to combine his degree in statistics with his skills as an engineer.
He has focused on creating topic modeling tools to analyze unstructured feedback, helping the university identify recurring issues in submitted Service Now tickets and act preemptively. “At the leadership level, making sense of textured data is usually a big problem, so we’re developing text models that can look at all this jargon in documents and share the main issues that have been reported,” Sam explained.
Sam focuses on creating topic modeling tools to analyze unstructured feedback, helping the university identify recurring issues and act preemptively. “At the leadership level, making sense of textured data is usually a big problem, so we’re developing text models that can look at all this jargon in documents and share the main issues that have been reported,” Sam explained.
Faith, who is from Cameroon and has a business administration background but no prior experience in AI, has worked with the team’s Programs and Design Chapter on creating tools to make AI more approachable for non-technical users. “We have to educate more people to let them know about AI tools to reduce the fear that people may have about it,” Faith said.
Their collaboration extended to building an ethical AI engine that ensures AI models are safe and unbiased. Together, they are working on a solution for those who are creating chatbots in ASU’s MyAI Builder and ChatGPT to conduct “a background check” so that what they’re trying to deploy is not biased and is giving accurate answers.
Looking ahead, both students will continue to work with the AI Acceleration team; Sam then plans to continue his work in data science, while Faith envisions a career in AI product management. “I’m really so happy with the fact that I’m working with an aspirational team, and I’m there with the development of products from scratch,” Sam said.