IE University is a hub for innovation. To that end, it makes sense that our students would take their passions and create a hub for creative minds to come together to explore, learn and create in the realm of artificial intelligence and robotics. Read on to learn more about the IE Robotics & AI Club.
At IE University, we take pride in our expansive offerings, from student-led clubs to events and campus life activities. And when our students’ interests are piqued, they will go beyond expectations and find a way to fulfill their curiosity. A group of students from our Bachelor in Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence took it upon themselves to create a club for students interested in the world of AI and robotics.
Diego Sanmartin, Manuel San Roman and Pablo Ortega are the brains behind and co-presidents of the IE Robotics & AI Club. When IE School of Science and Technology opened the IE University’s Robotics and AI Lab, the co-presidents saw their golden opportunity to “create a dynamic community for all students interested in AI and its cutting-edge applications.” They started the club with the mission to “inspire, engage and instruct students in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence through applied learning.”
In an effort to expand the world of robotics and allow students to try something out of their comfort zone, the club is open to students from any bachelor’s program, not only tech-related programs. Students from the Bachelor’s in Data & Business Analytics and the Bachelor in Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence find themselves deeply engaged due to the nature of their studies, but the club is for anyone curious about tech and wanting to grow alongside like-minded game-changers. The blend of varying perspectives and disciplines is part of the enriching nature of the Robotics & AI Club and fosters a unique environment of creativity.
A drive to show up every day
Students who join the IE Robotics & AI Club are usually driven by their fascination for robotics and AI. One member commented that he was initially most excited about the endless possibilities the club presented—he could streamline complex tasks and develop projects quickly with advanced architectures and new, trending applications. Another club member noted how attending one of the club’s workshops in steganography helped him understand the model architecture behind encoder-decoder.
The club meets at the IE University’s Robotics and AI Lab to put their ideas to the test and discover the potential of AI. To see their outputs in a tangible, movable form is very different from seeing them on a screen. With the goal to provide an opportunity for individuals of all levels of technical knowledge to either delve into or stay informed about state-of-the-art models, the IE Robotics & AI Club covers everything from coding to ChatGPT. Plus, the vibrant energy of the club’s community, the enthusiasm of the dedicated members and the possibility of making significant contributions to the field of AI and robotics keep students coming back to the club day after day.
Who are the IE Robotics & AI Club and what do they do?
As the club continues to expand, they add more projects, ideas and workshops to their schedules. They host workshops once a month in which they take a deep dive into a single project. Led by Diego Sanmartin, Manuel San Roman and Pablo Ortega, club members explain the components, provide the code needed and offer support to the other participants while they work to get the code running locally.
The IE Robotics & AI Club’s projects are all open-sourced and available online. They are currently working on two big, inspiring projects:
- An AI Virtual assistant that can run on laptops and could potentially be integrated with Tiago in the future
- VictorIA, an intelligent player who can play physical games using robotic arms. At the moment, the club is focusing on getting VictorIA to play three in a row, Sudoku Solver and Connect 4.
The club also hosts the AI Paper of the Week Series, where students gather to discuss trending topics, review and analyze a research paper and address any questions that arise. If you’d like to attend the AI Paper of the Week Series, register via IE Connects for exclusive access to research projects, workshops, speaker events and more.
Members of the club also recently attended IE University and ClibrAIn’s AI and y Español hackathon, forming a team called Neural Nomads, which provides an advanced AI SaaS. Thanks to the hands-on practice the team has in the lab and the ideas they bounce off each other, Neural Nomads was successful and won the competition.
What’s next for the IE Robotics & AI Club?
The IE Robotics & AI Club is focused on creating a larger, more diverse community of AI and robotics enthusiasts. It’s an environment where students can step out of the norm and step into the exciting world of robotics, where they will gain valuable skills and continue to contribute to shaping the future. The club offers practical insights into robotics, from conceptualizing ideas to designing and implementing projects. And the club seeks to continue doing just that in the future, with hopes of becoming a benchmark for academic institutions around the world.
In order to continue growing and creating an impact, the IE Robotics & AI Club is currently in contact with various organizations in order to help them create bigger projects, share their work on a larger scale and engage more students from varying disciplines. The club’s founders seek to build a space that serves as a fundamental pillar of IE School of Science and Technology, and they envision the club as a beacon of innovation in AI and robotics at IE University and beyond.
Driving innovation and driving community
A large part of studying at IE University can be found within the IE Experience. The IE Robotics & AI Club creates a collaborative and supportive environment that fosters communication, learning, innovation and trying new things.
The club’s members strive to cultivate a space where members can share their ideas and pursue their projects freely. If you’re interested in feeling empowered to develop your own ideas or tap into your creative side, the IE Robotics & AI Club is the place for you.
Find out more about the IE Robotics & AI Club on our website or check out our Instagram page: @ieroboticsclub. Plus, if you want to see what we’re up to but aren’t ready to commit, here’s our public page full of materials and projects.
If you want to turn your ideas into tangible products with the help of tomorrow’s fast-growing technologies, check out the Bachelor in Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence.