I’ll start by saying that the discussion about AI-induced human extinction is not new. It has been the topic of science fiction for decades. Think HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey, or movies like The Terminator, The Matrix, etc.

In cybersecurity, we define risk as a function of likelihood and impact. In other words, risk depends both on how likely it is for an adverse outcome to occur as well as the impact of the event. The same risk discussion applies here. It isn’t overly likely that AI will go out of control in a way that it affects humanity, but if it does, the impact will be massive. Because of that, we have to treat this risk as very high.

We have already seen some of the risks AI poses, as there have been a number of instances of AI agents going rogue. How did we get to this point?

AI programming is built on a specific combination of mathematics, statistics and computer science that has yielded emergent properties. What we mean by that is that complex AI models start exhibiting unexpected abilities or behaviors when they grow large enough, despite the fact that individual components do not have them. This is a well-known fact in systems theory, but to see it as clearly illustrated as we see it today is fascinating but worrisome.

What can be done to reduce or even remove those risks?

We can begin by learning from the past. The internet was initially developed without any security built into its fabric. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, it became clear that this was an oversight and a huge industry emerged to “bolt on” security measures. However, we know that add-ons are never as effective as having something incorporated into a design from the start.

We should not repeat that mistake. We need to develop safety and security features of AI in parallel with its capabilities. A smart regulatory policy can help, not by stopping innovation, but by establishing clear rules that might curb dangerous practices while encouraging safe ones.

Can students today help make AI safe by earning a degree in it?

Yes, absolutely. It comes back to those emergent properties. Emergent properties provide fantastic capabilities, but there also need to be firm guardrails in place to ensure that all decisions made using AI are ethical and keep people at the center. Studying AI equips students with the ability to fully understand these issues and serve as domain specialists in responsible development, adoption and use of AI and AI-like technologies.

������Ƶ offers bachelor’s degree programs in AI as well computer science and information systems. What fields of work do they prepare students for?

There are four main career tracks for majors in computer science, information systems and artificial intelligence.

They pursue a career in software engineering, which involves the many steps that go into creating and maintaining software products; AI will play a big role in this field. Another field is defensive cybersecurity. AI will play an important role here are well, but much of what a security analyst does today is making experience-based judgement calls. AI is great with facts, but not so much when it comes to values and opinions.

AI engineering is the new career option. AI is software, so AI engineers are, in a way, specialized software engineers. They primarily focus on all aspects of developing and improving AI algorithms. Analysis is the fourth career track and is the focus of our information systems program. It prepares students for analyst careers—for example, business analyst—where they will bridge “business” with “technology.”

Our MS in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning program is offered in Garden City but also at our Manhattan Center. What advantages does this give professionals working in New York City?

New York City is a hub for tech entrepreneurship, and having closer proximity to that hub enables our students to fully tap into that potential. Our MS in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is a hybrid program; some courses are offered in person while others are offered online. This mix allows working professionals to attend to their jobs during the day and expand their career in the evening. A full-time student should expect to spend three or four evenings per week on degree work, but we also support part-time students who may not be able to dedicate so much time. Either way, we work with each student on an individual basis to ensure that they get the most out of the program.

What hard skills are graduates of our degree programs able to list on their résumés?

While our students acquire hard technical skills—such as programming in Python, training machine learning models, developing algorithms and building system architecture—higher education is about far more than short-term skill development.

The core of what we do in the mathematics and computer science department is teach critical thinking, problem solving and solution design. By critical thinking, I mean being able to identify, understand and clearly describe the problem that needs to be solved, while also understanding the implications and capabilities of all the technologies that could be used to solve it. Problem solving involves deciding what technologies are appropriate to be used, and how they should be deployed. Solution design is establishing a socio-technical system of humans interacting with technology addresses the issue.

By taking the liberal arts approach to this instead of merely relying on skill development, we future-proof the students’ entire career. Technologies change; the ability to think does not.

Back to the news, President Trump has recently talked about referring to artificial intelligence as “superintelligence.” Are they the same thing?

Superintelligence is a concept that describes a form of artificial intelligence that transcends human intelligence. Traditionally, the AI we see today is considered “basic AI.” Once it reaches the level that it is comparable to the way humans think, it would be referred to as “artificial general intelligence” or “AGI.” When it evolves beyond that, it would become “superintelligence.”

The question is how much intuition, self-interest and subjective decision-making defines human intelligence. Self-interest requires self-consciousness; in other words, the realization of self. That strays deeper into philosophy and psychology than I’m comfortable discussing, though.

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Under the leadership of Robert Shipley ’05, assistant vice president for facilities management, the facilities team proposed pairing a mandatory roof replacement in 2022 with a modern solar energy installation.

“We had to replace the roof, so the question became: How do we make the most of that investment?” said Shipley. “Pairing the new roof with solar gave us an opportunity to solve an immediate problem while doing something that will benefit ������Ƶ for years to come.”

Today, that vision is a reality. A new 295 kW rooftop solar array on the CRS is fully energized and producing clean electricity on the 75-acre Garden City campus.

With this greener approach, ������Ƶ is also saving green: between $20,000 and $26,000 per year.

In fact, over ������Ƶ’s 20-year agreement with Greenskies Clean Energy, projected savings come out to approximately $600,000—an astonishing number that easily recovers the capital expense of replacing the roof.

Strategic Partnerships and Financial Savings

Bringing the solar installation to life required careful planning. ������Ƶ began working with SolarKal, a commercial solar advisory, in 2022 to guide the project through evaluation and competitive procurement. Following the procurement process, the ������Ƶ Board of Trustees selected Greenskies to develop, construct, own and operate the system.

The 546-panel array was completed without requiring up-front capital investment from the University for the solar infrastructure itself. Under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement with Greenskies, ������Ƶ purchases the electricity generated by the system at a discounted rate compared to standard utility pricing with PSEG Long Island.

“Smart growth and sustainable infrastructure are key priorities for ������Ƶ, and this project aligns directly with those goals,” said Carol Ann Boyle, MBA ’17, vice president of campus operations. “Bringing more solar online is a major step toward ������Ƶ’s cleaner, more sustainable future.”

Installation officially began in July 2025. While physical panel placement was straightforward, the project team faced significant weather delays due to something everyone on campus will remember: one of Long Island’s coldest and snowiest winters in recent memory.

“Projects like this take close coordination from development through construction and interconnection,” noted Carson Mislick, director of project delivery at Greenskies Clean Energy. “We’re proud to have worked alongside ������Ƶ and SolarKal to bring the project across the finish line.”

Neil Sharma, SolarKal co-founder and chief commercial officer, added, “As a New Yorker with a personal connection to ������Ƶ, this has always felt like a hometown project to me. After working toward it for years, it’s especially rewarding to see it come to life.”

Expanding a Decades-Long Legacy of Sustainability

The new rooftop array is the latest chapter in ������Ƶ’s long history of environmental initiatives:

• 2003: Installed a geothermal heating and cooling system in Residence Hall A, cutting electricity reliance for the facility by approximately 30 percent
• 2006: Earned recognition during EPA compliance inspections as the only regional educational institution to pass with zero fines or penalties
• 2011: Commissioned a 50 kW solar installation on the roof of Swirbul Library
• 2016: Added a 2 MW campus cogeneration plant to improve overall energy efficiency
• 2025: Regained official arboretum status for green spaces and implemented food waste reduction practices in dining services

These cumulative efforts earned ������Ƶ a spot in The Princeton Review 2025 Guide to Green Colleges.

������Ƶ’s 75-acre campus, with more than 100 species of trees and shrubs, has renewed arboretum status.

Looking Ahead to Future Green Initiatives

������Ƶ continues to expand its green roadmap under the guidance of a new Sustainability Committee, launched in Fall 2026.

As part of an overarching $55 million campus modernization project, information technology and facilities management teams are working together on a project to relocate and upgrade the campus data center that will boost operational energy efficiency. The University has also installed new HVAC systems and energy-efficient windows in the Hagedorn Hall of Enterprise.

Looking further ahead, the facilities team is exploring additional solar array installations on the Hy Weinberg Center for Communication Disorders and Angello Alumni House.

With the CRS system energized and delivering clean power, ������Ƶ proves that even unexpected infrastructure challenges can turn into long-term opportunities for sustainable growth.

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support eligible institutions of higher education in expanding their capacity to serve low-income students by strengthening their academic quality, institutional management and fiscal stability. To qualify, an institution must have at least 50 percent of its degree students receiving need-based assistance or a substantial number of enrolled students receiving Pell Grants, in addition to low educational and general expenditures. ������Ƶ has demonstrated a deep commitment to the enrollment and upward mobility of low-income and first-generation students, evidenced through its undergraduate population—33 percent of undergrad students are Pell recipients, and of the undergraduate students who provided their parents’ highest degree, 45 percent identified as first-generation college students.

������Ƶ Ascend will largely support low-income students and help them become more successful in college and in their future careers. “������Ƶ is well known for the social mobility of its graduates,” said Andrea Ward, PhD, vice provost for research and libraries, who led the development of this grant. “Through this program, ������Ƶ will continue to show its commitment to working with students to not only succeed in the classroom but also once they graduate.”

The program focuses on three areas:

• Transforming the advising system for first-year students, providing a more holistic experience that incorporates faculty and staff training on how to effectively support and engage with today’s students, helping them to transition more easily to college, move into their desired major and continue through graduation.
• Reworking and augmenting ������Ƶ’s First-Year Seminar program, an existing requirement for nearly all first-year students that serves as a yearlong orientation program. Students will undergo evaluations to develop skills and learn the critical academic, behavioral and financial competencies necessary for postsecondary persistence and self-sufficiency. Mentorship is built into the plan; upper-class students will serve as mentors to first-year students, and alumni will be invited to speak to students about internships and career opportunities during a Career Day at ������Ƶ’s Manhattan Center.
• AI-ready workforce development, helping to build AI literacy and develop AI skills necessary for students’ academic disciplines and careers. AI training will also be provided to faculty from both a teaching and a research perspective, teaching them the value that AI brings to an educational experience. As part of this effort, a new AI Cross-Disciplinary Certificate program will also be developed by ������Ƶ’s Innovation Center.

Through these strategic efforts, ������Ƶ aims to elevate first-year persistence, accelerate on-time graduation, expand long-term degree completion and advance educational equity by eliminating the historical achievement gap between Pell-eligible and non-Pell students.

������Ƶ Ascend is a collaborative effort led by Louise Geddes, PhD, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and co-led by Salvatore Petrilli ’05, EdD, senior associate dean for academic operations and general education, Lee Stemkoski, PhD, professor of computer science and mathematics and director of the Innovation Center, and Debra Kyriacou, executive director of the Office of Academic Services and Retention. It is expected that the program will result in higher retention rates for first-year students and improvements in the four-year graduation rate, in addition to decreasing the gaps between students receiving Pell awards and those not receiving Pell awards.

“This grant offers us the opportunity to enact a holistic advising practice to suit each student’s journey at ������Ƶ,” said Interim Dean Geddes. “It can help students, many of whom might be the first in their family to attend college, in finding their feet at the institution. Our goal is to support all students as they learn how to find their passion, hone their skills and develop their future careers.”

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This program focuses on high-growth sectors—such as AI, cleantech and software—identified by Empire State Development, New York state’s chief economic development agency. It will also address high-need, under-resourced public sectors facing critical local shortages, such as behavioral health, eldercare and social services, and will connect participants with real-life project-based externships.

“������Ƶ is proud to be nationally recognized for its commitment to social mobility. The ������Ƶ Entrepreneur Experience will further advance that focus across and beyond the Greater New York City region,” said MaryAnne Hyland, PhD, dean of the Willumstad School of Business. “The program will support new businesses in high-growth and high-demand industries in New York, and the program participants will have a holistic experience that will support strong outcomes in a new model for economic development.”

Launching the Next Generation of Student Founders

The ������Ƶ Entrepreneur Experience connects aspiring entrepreneurs with the New York area’s business and innovation scene. Over nine months, ������Ƶ students will complete six four-week sprints, developed by ������Ƶ business faculty, to build the knowledge and skills to launch a venture. Enrolled student entrepreneurs will learn from a faculty-led curriculum, discussions and lectures with experts, and support from coaches and peers.

Launching in February 2027, the program’s first two cohorts of 20 students (Spring 2027 and Fall 2027) are open to both ������Ƶ students and nonmatriculated individuals seeking to launch their own business. Eligible entrepreneurs must live, work or attend school in one of the following counties:

• New York: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens, Richmond, Suffolk
• New Jersey: Essex, Hudson

������Ƶ will partner with to provide strategic and comprehensive consulting for this program, tapping into the firm’s data-driven, human-centric expertise in equitable development and sustainable growth building. An additional partnership with , a platform that facilitates project-based externship experiences, will allow the ������Ƶ Entrepreneur Experience to provide hands-on opportunities for participants to develop go-to-market strategies, products and fundraising skills.

The ������Ƶ Entrepreneur Experience targets startups within two sectors:

• High-Growth: Biotech, cleantech, software/AI and fintech, aligned with .
• High-Need: Healthcare, behavioral health, social services and EdTech, aligned with ������Ƶ’s nursing and public health, psychology, business administration, artificial intelligence, social work, education, and the sciences offerings to address regional workforce gaps.

Strengthening the Greater New York City Ecosystem

Leveraging ������Ƶ’s Garden City campus and its midtown Manhattan Center, the initiative connects student founders across Greater New York, including all five New York City boroughs, Long Island and northern New Jersey. Local government, nonprofit and regional startup partners are also invited to engage with this opportunity.

Applications to the program are open now through January 19, 2027, for the inaugural February cohort, and ongoing for Fall 2027 enrollment. Applicants must be the original founder of their startup idea.

Rooted in Top-Ranked Business Education

The ������Ƶ Entrepreneur Experience builds on the academic prestige and proven track record of the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business. Accredited by AACSB International, a distinction only held by fewer than 6 percent of business schools worldwide, ������Ƶ’s WSB ranks as the No. 1 undergraduate business school on Long Island by Poets&Quants and is recognized among the best in the nation by The Princeton Review.

Furthering its reach across the region, the school has expanded its programs to ������Ƶ’s Manhattan Center, offering flexible learning pathways such as its new Flex MBA, enabling students to earn a degree in as little as one year.

For more information on applying, investing, partnering and mentoring, visit the ������Ƶ Entrepreneur Experience site, and contact aee@adelphi.edu with questions.

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Yet there’s plenty of evidence that AI use weakens students’ critical thinking and research skills. Many educators believe that AI also dilutes human connection and the value of in-person learning, which has only just been revived post COVID-19.

So what’s the solution?

A Handbook for “Healthy Skeptics”

According to learning sciences faculty in the ������Ƶ Ruth S. Ammon College of Education and Health Sciences, there’s no one right answer.

“The most empowering thing we can do for educators right now is help them see that they don’t have to demonize or fetishize AI,” said Elizabeth de Freitas, PhD, professor of learning sciences. But educators should also slow down and reflect. “Rather than simply leaping to a particular use of AI, we have to spend more time understanding the nature of the specific models we are using and how these come to us historically.”

Dr. de Freitas and her ������Ƶ colleague Matthew Curinga, EdD, associate professor of learning sciences, co-edited (University of Minnesota Press, 2026), a new collection of 27 essays exploring links between machine learning and culture from scholars in media studies, philosophy, computer science, math, linguistics and education. The book serves as an interdisciplinary guide for educators trying to make sense of how human learning, and learning more generally, is being newly reconceived by AI.

“There’s a lot of polarization in the AI conversation. You’re either for or against it,” Dr. Curinga said. “But the book is not ‘do this, don’t do that.’ We’re providing the nuance that educators need to evaluate AI for themselves, to develop their own theories and philosophies, to become healthy skeptics of technology.”

Beyond the Hype and the Headlines

For Dr. de Freitas, current large language models (LLMs) are another mode of language production and can be studied for how they develop fluency. Much like a human journalist might speak to sources and then draft a story, AI collects data from the internet and then generates hypothetical claims. And, much like a human journalist, AI models will exhibit bias and specific perspectives. It’s not a truth teller or sage, she says, nor is it a “black box”—a phenomenon that’s beyond the ken of anyone but computer scientists. “The 27 essays in the book help readers understand the history of these models, as part of the history of computing more generally, and that’s empowering: “Educators can help to demystify AI by understanding this history.”

AI isn’t all-powerful, either. “We can’t just read the headlines that tell us AI will replace a million jobs by 2050 and shrug our shoulders,” Dr. Curinga said. He and Dr. de Freitas reject the concept of technological determinism, in which AI is an inevitable force driving its own future, impervious to human intervention. Instead, their work equips educators with the agency to keep learning firmly human-driven, even when it involves machines.

Research That Resists Easy Answers

Other learning sciences faculty are resisting the good-bad binary in their research and teaching.

Aaron Chia Yuan Hung, EdD, associate professor of education, who’s in the early stages of research on generative AI and learning, said his interest is “less on whether generative AI helps or hurts, but what kind of pedagogy has to be in place for it to help a specific group of learners.”

“So far, research on AI and learning has been inconclusive. Dr. Hung notes that: “There’s compelling evidence that heavy reliance on large language models carries a real cognitive cost.” But other studies have shown positive results: an increase in creativity when brainstorming, an AI-powered tutor that’s engaging students more deeply than active instruction. “Put together, these studies suggest that GenAI used as a substitute for effort has real costs, and that GenAI used as a well-designed instructional or creative tool can offer meaningful support.” What a user is actually asking the tool to do, Dr. Hung says, is likely the most important variable.

Tracy Hogan, PhD, professor of learning sciences, is intrigued by the gendered dimensions of AI technology. Her research investigates the relationship between a user’s background and how they interact with chatbots—specifically, if users with computer science experience are representing chatbots through a neutral gender lens, while less well-informed users are representing their bots through a specific gender identity. She’s brought these ideas into her Critical Literacy in Mathematics and Science Education class, where she works with students to explore inherent biases in AI input and output.

Training Tomorrow’s Educators for the AI Classroom

Whether producing their own research or referring to others’, ������Ƶ faculty are applying evidence-based teaching methods in their classes, preparing a generation of educators to adapt to an ever-evolving AI landscape.

In the University’s Manhattan Center, students in the PhD in Learning Sciences program engage in complex machine learning scenarios in both the classroom and the center’s STEAM Innovation Lab. Though the STEAM lab is largely analog, Dr. Hogan encourages her students to play around with AI tools when designing and coding projects. Most of what these tools generate is incorrect or incomplete, so students are forced to draw on their own knowledge to critically examine AI’s output—a process that, in the end, reflects the STEAM program’s commitment to learning by experience and experimentation.

In Dr. Hung’s classroom, students are invited to cast light on the “black box” of AI. Many of his students don’t actually know how it works, even though they use it regularly. For Dr. Hung, explaining the basics to students—“why GenAI responses aren’t like a search engine’s, why it’s prone to hallucination, why it’s suited to some tasks and not others, why it almost never says it doesn’t have an answer”—is easy enough. The real challenge, for him and other educators, is keeping up with the pace of innovation. “More than once in my first semester teaching this class, a model we’d just discussed got a significant update midsemester that changed the conversation,” he said.

Although AI tools are imperfect, ������Ƶ learning sciences faculty aren’t opting out altogether. There’s much good that can be done with these tools, they believe, if applied rigorously and ethically. Most importantly, today’s students must be ready to lead the classrooms of tomorrow.

As Dr. Hung puts it, “Our students’ future students won’t opt out of AI, and more workplaces will expect graduates to arrive with some baseline AI literacy. The risks are real enough to design around carefully, but the technology isn’t going anywhere, so pretending otherwise doesn’t serve our students.”

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Research is a foundation of the undergraduate experience at ������Ƶ. It is promoted by the University’s SPARK Center and Innovation Center, the annual Scholarship and Creative Works Conference (known as Research Day) as well as numerous summer internship programs. To further facilitate research, ������Ƶ has also developed partnerships with businesses and organizations that offer research opportunities and internships at various facilities, allowing students to advance their skills, discover potential careers and enhance their résumés.

One of ������Ƶ’s premier partners is . Located on Long Island, Brookhaven’s 5,300-acre campus contains several large facilities devoted to research in nuclear and high-energy physics, environmental and bioscience, and energy science and technology. The lab has racked up numerous achievements over the years, including seven Nobel Prize-winning discoveries and 37 R&D 100 Awards.

As a science partner of the University, Brookhaven has welcomed many ������Ƶ students as interns over the years. This summer, two ������Ƶ physics majors—current seniors Michael Ishal and Carolina Guekjian—earned internships to conduct scientific research there. Both explored new frontiers in imaging.

Doing Research in AI and Computational Imaging

Michael Ishal, who is majoring in physics, still remembers what drew him to ������Ƶ. “There was a day dedicated to students who were considering ������Ƶ physics, where we could talk with physics professors and learn from them,” he recalled. “Additionally, we were able to sit in on classes as well. The physics professors were full of energy, and they were truly excited to teach. They encouraged curiosity and challenged students to think critically.”

One of those professors was Kevin Liang, PhD, an associate professor in the department, who had been discussing a concept that day known as Rayleigh’s criterion. Little did Ishal know, three years into his ������Ƶ career, he and Dr. Liang would work together on research related to Rayleigh’s criterion and would prepare a publication based on that very research.

Ishal tackled other research opportunities at Brookhaven National Laboratory when he enrolled last academic year in a (WDSE) mini-semester program. There, he and his fellow students toured the scientific facilities and observed research projects while interacting with world-class scientists and engineers. One of those research projects, conducted by David Park, PhD, attracted Ishal’s interest. “After asking him if he was accepting interns, Dr. Park asked me to check out some of his publications,” he explained, “and then send him an email discussing my research more in depth.” Ishal sent an email that night. The day after, when the mini-semester ended, Ishal received an internship offer .

Ishal’s internship experience was related to research he had done at ������Ƶ on flaws in lenses or mirrors that distort images, also known as optical aberrations. Working in Brookhaven’s Computing and Data Sciences department, he focused on AI and computational imaging, testing neural network-based methods to detect whether images are degraded by optical aberrations. Dr. Park assisted him in this research, serving as his mentor.

“The experience taught me the importance of both collaboration and independence, expanding your domain of knowledge through literature searches, and how research can lead to valuable, unexpected results,” Ishal said. “Working with talented researchers strengthened my skills in machine learning, data analysis and AI research, which gave me a strong foundation as I continue my education and pursue future career opportunities.”

Doing Research That May Help Transform Medicine

Heading into college, Carolina Guekjian knew that she wanted to major in physics. “I saw all the possibilities of how physics can make incredible impacts on our future,” she said. “I wanted to be one of the ones that contribute to it.” The challenge now was figuring out where to pursue this field of study. “I spoke to previous ������Ƶ students who praised the professors and how they truly care about their students,” Guekjian said. “As I toured the physics department, I learned about all the interesting things that I would be learning.”

As a physics major, Guekjian has been involved in academic research since her first year. She worked closely with Sean Bentley, PhD, an associate professor in the department, researching a strange physical phenomenon known as quantum entanglement. She later had the opportunity to tour Brookhaven, where she learned about the lab’s research in that area. Intrigued, Guekjian decided to pursue an internship opportunity related to that research. She was accepted.

As an intern, Guekjian was able to observe experiments in quantum entanglement conducted through the , which allows researchers to study materials with nanoscale resolution. She also had the opportunity to see the inside of the detectors used at the , as Brookhaven began dismantling equipment and preparing for the transition to the .

Guekjian also, of course, continued her own research at Brookhaven, investigating quantum entanglement’s ability to produce images at a spectacularly high level of resolution. The technology has the potential to transform medical imaging, enabling it to discover diseases at their earliest stages.

Her research has been going well—so well, in fact, that she was offered the opportunity to extend her internship into the school year and continue her work at Brookhaven.

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Key Takeaways

• ������Ƶ’s Willumstad School of Business placed 120 students in internships in the 2025-2026 academic year.
• About 85% of internship positions are paid—ranging from minimum wage up to $30/hour for accounting students.
• Willumstad students have interned at major employers including KPMG, PwC, Morgan Stanley, NBC, and Universal.
• Beyond technical skills, internships build critical thinking and interpersonal skills—and teach students how to use AI responsibly in professional settings.

Why Internships Matter More Than Ever

“Gaining that hands-on experience separates a student from everyone else, and really sets them up for success,” said John Marimuthu, internship director for the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business. “You become more marketable when you have the ability to showcase what you’ve done somewhere else.” In his position, Marimuthu serves as a matchmaker between employers and students, curating a database of companies with a positive track record of employing ������Ƶ students, and coaching students through every step of the application process.

By the Numbers: Internship Outcomes at Willumstad

Marimuthu helped to place 120 students in internships in just the most recent academic year. Accounting students have worked for the likes of KPMG and PwC; finance students have interned at Morgan Stanley; and management majors have worked at Leviton and JP Morgan Chase—to name just a few of the dozens of companies employing Willumstad undergrads. In a unique partnership, some students have even gone to Croatia to work with marketing firm Atlantic Grupa, conducting market research for major hotel and restaurant brands across Europe. Closer to home, interns have worked with Long Island hair salon chain Willows Cove, helping design and execute a social media strategy.

Some 85 percent of the positions are paid, Marimuthu says, many for minimum wage, but some for significantly higher—starting at $17/hour for management students and up to $30/hour for accounting students. In their positions, students are often getting their hands dirty, working on projects directly related to company priorities. “Working on projects in the classroom is totally different than applying those skills in the real world,” says Raghida Abdallah Yassine, PhD, assistant professor of management at Willumstad. “We give them basics, but it’s not customized specifically to a company’s needs.” In addition to practical techniques, they are also learning critical thinking and how to interact personally with colleagues, Dr. Yassine said. “When you do an internship, it’s not just technical skills, but also softer skills that get enhanced.”

Importantly, she said, they also learn how to use—and not use—AI in the workplace. “We keep telling them, don’t over-rely on AI, you still have to use your thinking skills,” said Dr. Yassine. “In an internship, you realize the effect of that, when you are in a meeting and you can’t say, ‘Wait a minute, let me see what AI can tell me.’ You have to interact and come up with a solution in real time.”

Real Student Success Stories

Those interpersonal dynamics have been the biggest takeaway for senior finance major Matias Hoyos, who interned at an infrastructure company in Colombia after his first year and at Quantum Strategy Partners, a small private credit firm on Wall Street, for the last two summers. “Working directly with clients has taught me how to communicate clearly, ask the right questions and adjust my approach depending on a person or situation,” said Hoyos, who has already secured an internship this fall with Flynn Zito Capital Management.

Recent graduate Kyle Stephenson ’26 worked last spring as a marketing intern for The Garden City Hotel in Garden City, New York, helping create and schedule social media content for hotel and on-site restaurants. “The value of an internship cannot be overstated,” he said. “It provides real-world experience that prepares students for the workplace in the way the classroom cannot.” He should know—after graduation, the hotel offered him a full-time job.

Expert Tips for Landing an Internship

For students interested in internships during their time at ������Ƶ, Marimuthu offers the following advice:

Start Early

The time to prepare your résumé and cover letter is well in advance of applying for your first internship. Marimuthu’s office introduces students to the Willumstad Winning Edge program as early as their first year to create a standardized résumé and cover letter that can be adapted to different positions.

Take Assistance From AI

Marimuthu encourages students to run their résumés and cover letter through ChatGPT or Gemini to help polish them. He also helps them tailor their approaches to positions based on what AI applicant screening software is looking for. “If the job description has the word ‘professionalism’ three times, then the résumé needs to say that as well,” he said. “Through little tips and tricks like this, we’ve been able to show students how to leverage AI to their advantage.”

Interview Prep Is Key

Oftentimes, said Marimuthu, it’s the intangible qualities that come out in an interview that tip the balance in an applicant’s favor. The internship office offers students mock interviews to practice how to present themselves both professionally and personably. “So many times I’ve heard from hiring managers that the reason they went with someone is because of their personality,” Marimuthu said. “They want to know that the student is going to fit in.”

In addition to that practical advice, Marimuthu and his colleagues—alongside ������Ƶ’s Center for Career and Professional Development—offer students career guidance and coaching, helping them discover the kind of jobs they can get with their degree. “Those are some of the best conversations we have, because it goes beyond just ‘I need to get my résumé done,’ to looking at ‘This is what I’m interested in, share with me what I’m not seeing yet.’”

Through this variety of approaches, the internship office has developed a solid track record of placing students with companies during their time at ������Ƶ, which in turn has helped them after graduation get one step closer to their dream job.

If you are interested in offering an internship to ������Ƶ students, please send an email to John Marimuthu at jmarimuthu@adelphi.edu to set up a conversation.

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������Ƶ’s innovative MS in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning program is coming to the new, state-of-the-art Manhattan Center in Fall 2026, expanding opportunities for students to advance their careers in tech, engineering, and other in-demand fields impacted by AI.

“A lot of people are looking to upskill and understand how their professionalization can remain relevant in an AI agent workforce,” said Anil Venkatesh, PhD, director of the program and associate professor of mathematics and computer science. “We wanted to offer this program at a place that would be convenient for working professionals, and the Manhattan Center made a lot of sense.”

By expanding this program to the new state-of-the-art facility, located just steps from Grand Central Station at Fifth Avenue and 44th Street, ������Ƶ is making it even easier for students to develop these career-defining skills, network with other forward thinkers, and explore job opportunities.

“We are expecting to see a lot of professionals from diverse job backgrounds who will bring some really interesting perspectives,” Dr. Venkatesh said. “That will only increase the overall engagement of courses.”

The MS in AI and Machine Learning is just one of the programs in the first wave of 13 graduate and professional offerings coming to the Manhattan Center. Students can choose from degree and certificate programs in business, education, healthcare, psychology, and social work.

A world of career options

The AI program, which launched this year on ������Ƶ’s Garden City campus, is designed to prepare the first generation of AI professionals for advanced careers in technology, government, healthcare, financial services, logistics, e-commerce, and virtually any other field. Current job titles include AI engineer, machine learning engineer, data scientist, data analyst, and business analyst.

Courses in the master’s degree program combine practical, real-world learning experiences with deep theoretical knowledge that can be applied to AI models—not just now, but as technology evolves.

“Ultimately, the theory of AI is not something that was just invented,” Dr. Venkatesh said. “It has existed for quite some time. And understanding that theory is going to make it so that you can plug and play with whatever new model or paradigm comes along.”

The program is also built to adapt to new AI careers and applications as they continue to emerge. The program’s seminar, for example, is updated every year with new tools and input from speakers currently working in the industry. And Dr. Venkatesh’s course on artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms is consistently refreshed with the latest cutting-edge algorithms and best engineering practices.

As Dr. Venkatesh said, “We’re both staying up-to-date with contemporary discoveries and innovations and incorporating foundational math and statistics that will be useful no matter where the industry goes.”

Customizing AI education for different professions

AI isn’t only impacting technology companies and engineering careers. It’s being applied across sectors, including government, healthcare, and financial services.

“We’ve had students who’ve worked in programming-heavy disciplines,” Dr. Venkatesh said. “But we also expect to see folks with backgrounds in statistics as it relates to life sciences and healthcare because AI tools are tremendously valuable in those disciplines.”

To that end, Dr. Venkatesh makes a pointed effort to customize his Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Algorithms course for students’ professional goals.

“When I assign projects, I explicitly invite students to counter-propose a different topic if there’s something specifically suited to their particular professionalization,” he said. “As long as it’s comparably challenging and relevant to the course, I accept the proposal.”

Students responded enthusiastically to the invitation, proposing and carrying out research projects in healthcare, bioinformatics, sports analytics, financial services, and business analytics.

Thinking ahead to the fall, Dr. Venkatesh looks forward to welcoming the program’s first cohort to the Manhattan Center and continuing to teach as this exciting field evolves.

“The other professors and I who put this program together really love teaching it,” he said. “We’re excited by the format of the course and the type of student that we’re orienting toward. This is some of the most fun teaching we’ve had in a long time.”

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“Our partnership with LumiNicole is about meeting students where they are and continuing to evolve the campus experience,” said Maggie Yoon Grafer, ������Ƶ’s associate vice president of university advancement & external relations. “As the first university to bring LumiNicole’s automated retail technology to campus, we’re doing more than adding convenience; we’re positioning our Garden City campus as a leader in retail innovation, creating meaningful job opportunities for our students and ensuring this partnership gives back to our community.”

—founded by and two entrepreneurs with a track record of building and scaling beauty and wellness platforms by solving access and distribution challenges—aims to transform how beauty and wellness products reach consumers in high-traffic, nontraditional environments. Its expansion to install smart retail machines in higher education institutions to reach college students—starting with ������Ƶ—is a key part of this initiative.

“The ������Ƶ launch represents an important milestone for LumiNicole and for how campuses can thoughtfully support student well-being,” said LumiNicole Co-Founder Kendra Bracken-Ferguson. “This partnership provides convenient access to beauty and wellness essentials that meet everyday needs, while intentionally creating paid, on-campus opportunities for students. Together with ������Ƶ, we’re reimagining how retail, education and career exposure can intersect in ways that meaningfully support academic success and long-term career readiness.”

Creating Career Development and Scholarship Opportunities For ������Ƶ Students

In addition to the automated retail store, LumiNicole will partner with ������Ƶ to provide job development and other opportunities, including an internship, a brand ambassador program for ������Ƶ students and a scholarship. The LumiNicole Beauty & Wellness Scholarship was established to support ������Ƶ students whose studies align with chemistry, science, supply chain, technology, manufacturing, marketing, communications and operational infrastructure that powers modern beauty and wellness businesses.

“From the beginning, LumiNicole was designed to do more than sell products; it was built to create pathways for career advancement and education,” said LumiNicole Co-Founder Leslie Roberson. “The LumiNicole Beauty & Wellness Scholarship reflects our shared commitment with ������Ƶ to experiential learning, industry alignment and career readiness. Through hands-on retail experiences, paid internships and our student ambassador program, we’re helping prepare the next generation of professionals for the evolving beauty and wellness industry.”

The LumiNicole automated retail stores will include from brands such as BeautyStat, founded by ������Ƶ alumnus Ron Robinson ’87.

“As an ������Ƶ alum and the founder of a science-backed beauty brand, it’s incredibly meaningful to see innovation and opportunity coming full circle on campus,” said Robinson. “LumiNicole’s presence at ������Ƶ creates real exposure for students to learn how modern beauty and wellness businesses operate, from formulation and supply chain to merchandising and consumer engagement. I’m proud to be part of a partnership that not only brings great products to campus, but also opens doors for students who aspire to build careers in this industry.”

������Ƶ and LumiNicole will host a joint ribbon-cutting ceremony and launch event to unveil the automated retail stores at ������Ƶ’s Garden City campus on Thursday, March 26. Robinson and other executives from beauty and wellness companies who have products featured in the machines will be in attendance.

Learn more about ������Ƶ’s partnership with LumiNicole.

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