The first cohort for the AI Adoption Accelerator consisted of eight manufacturing companies based in the West Midlands, with the aim of lowering the barrier of entry for AI, and equipping them with the tools to start and be successful in their AI journey.
The Accelerator was a carefully curated programme made up of four components.
First was a focus on practical learning that aimed to expand the cohort’s knowledge of the current landscape and how AI is evolving. Attendees were given guidance and actionable tools for topics like user-centred design, prioritising use cases, data fundamentals, the legal and ethical implications of AI, and how to create the right culture and leadership around digital change and AI, using successful case studies as examples.
Second was experience; each business was given a dedicated AI leadership mentor from AND. Meeting for at least an hour a week, their role was to work with the organisation to collaboratively solve their problems using their new knowledge and skills.
The third component was hands-on experimentation. Over the course of two days, we brought together each of our businesses alongside specialist technicians from AND during our Accelerator Hackathons.
During those sessions, we took each business’ priority use case, and built a real-world prototype of an AI solution that allowed them to see how it would work in practice, and get valuable user feedback.
The fourth and final component was crafting a roadmap and investment case of how to take their AI proof of concept to production and beyond. We helped them to understand the likely benefits and return on investment of their AI solution, and identify funding opportunities available to help them further build their AI and digital capabilities.