RFP: Course Development, Online Course in Generative AI
The Master of Information and Data Science program at the School of Information at UC Berkeley seeks proposals for a new online graduate course in Generative AI.
About the Proposed Course
Proposals will outline a 14-week, master’s-level online learning experience that covers key aspects of generative AI, LLMs, and their applications. The course should focus on practical aspects of the training, refining, evaluation, and deployment of LLMs, as well as some of the social questions surrounding the training and use of such systems.
The instructor should assume that students are self-motivated, advanced master’s degree students who have completed one or more courses in machine learning as a prerequisite for this course. Furthermore, the instructor should assume students will be proficient, but not expert programmers in modern general-purpose programming languages (e.g., Python); have basic familiarity with deep learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch) and architectures (such as transformers). Topics covered in the proposed course should include, but are not limited to, the algorithms behind diffusion and transformer-based models, techniques for prompt engineering, efforts at making LLM training and execution smaller and greener (e.g., LoRA), human-in-the-loop training (e.g., HLRF), and the state of the art in deployment technologies and frameworks with applications to a wide range of tasks and media types. The course should include a focus on ethical aspects, including techniques for debiasing, model aligning, and reducing misinformation and hallucinations, responsible use of generative AI and related intellectual property and privacy issues.
The successful proposal will be accepted for development and offered in the MIDS online degree program. Since this is a fast-moving field, it is expected that the course contents will be continually revised.
Although typical MIDS courses have 1.5 hours of pre-recorded asynchronous content, due to the fast-moving pace of this topic, for this course, we are open to innovative designs for content delivery so long as they meet required contact hours (45 hours/semester).
Individual vs. Joint Proposals
The I School encourages collaborative instructional design and happily accepts joint proposals and/or proposals from individuals who would be interested in joining a teaching team. Applications should specify which component(s) of the course the individual seeks to teach and which component(s) would best be left to a co-instructor, so that we can identify developers with complementary skills. Individual proposals are also welcomed.
About the MIDS Program
The Master of Information and Data Science (MIDS) program is an innovative part-time fully online graduate professional degree program that trains data-savvy professionals and managers. The MIDS program is distinguished by its disciplinary breadth; unlike other programs that focus on advanced mathematics and modeling alone, the MIDS degree provides students insights from social science and policy research, as well as statistics, computer science and engineering.
Deliverables for Accepted Proposal
Course deliverables for accepted proposals will consist of well-designed, reusable presentation slides, topic outlines for discussion sections, and assignments that exercise the lessons learned.
Submission Requirements
Respondents to this RFP must submit a cover letter, C.V.., and draft syllabus using the webform linked below. Draft syllabi should contain at minimum a course description, weekly topic breakdown for a 14-week course, brief descriptions of assignments, grading information, and reading list.
Responses must be received no later than October 3, 2023 for fullest consideration and will be accepted until selection is complete.
Strong preference will be given to course developers who are interested in continuing their association with the School of Information by applying to teach the developed course as a lecturer. The separate lecturer application can be found here: https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF03780
Compensation
Compensation for course development will be offered via vendor payment from UC Berkeley. To be eligible to receive compensation, the successful proposer will need to register with the UC Berkeley Accounts Payable Vendoring Team and must meet all applicable university requirements. Our expert team will walk you through the process to ensure that your vendor profile is active before work proceeds. This is not a visa opportunity.
The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status. For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see: http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct
Questions
Questions about this call for proposals can be directed to review committee chair Prof. Cornelia Paulik.
