UPR Mayagüez hosts second AI winter school with Notre Dame
The University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, recently hosted the second edition of the 2026 UPR-Notre Dame Winter School for Artificial Intelligence, an academic initiative designed to strengthen interinstitutional collaboration and expand the use of artificial intelligence in scientific research.
The program brought together professors, researchers and students through a multi-campus agenda that included the Río Piedras, Bayamón and Carolina campuses, along with participation from the University of Notre Dame.
Ubaldo M. Córdova-Figueroa, a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Mayagüez campus and the event’s organizer, said the goal is to create an interdisciplinary academic space to examine how AI is reshaping science and engineering research.
“This second edition, organized jointly by the two universities, aims to attract individuals interested in learning and developing technical skills in artificial intelligence to apply to their research projects, whether they are students or professors in their respective laboratories,” Córdova-Figueroa said.
“These connections are important for fostering collaboration and interdisciplinary work, and they include other disciplines,” he added. “One of our main goals is to expand this event internationally.”
Brett Savoie, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Notre Dame, said the experience underscored both institutions’ commitment to advancing research through emerging technologies.
“This experience has been transformative, as it has been three days of intense learning,” Savoie said. “We recognize the research being conducted at the University of Puerto Rico and exchange the latest advances in artificial intelligence. We have a strong and very valuable relationship between our two faculties.”
Agustín Rullán Toro, chancellor of the Mayagüez campus, said the institution is committed to developing advanced applications and encouraging collaboration between faculty and students, adding that the campus was proud to host the academic exchange.
The program included educational sessions, workshops, conferences and a hackathon, in which student teams worked with mentors to develop AI-based solutions to scientific and engineering challenges. The first edition of the winter school was held at the UPR’s Bayamón campus.
