CEO of Cayman Enterprise City Charlie Kirkconnell, standing beside Hollie Coleman and Dianne Conolly, Director of National Workforce Development Agency

Caymanian student Hollie Coleman is back at her studies as a Systems and Information Engineering student at the University of Virginia after spending her summer “in the city.” Coleman interned for special economic zone company NeuralStudio SEZC through Cayman Enterprise City’s “Summer in the City” internship programme.

Hollie says she picked up valuable hands-on experience in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Managing Director Jack Copper and computer scientist Jamal Clarke, were very supportive and encouraging.

NeuralStudio SEZC, a technology start-up based in Cayman Tech City, has developed a cloud-based portal that extends the use of AI to build and deploy machine-based learning models for global businesses. This AI portal is the first of its kind to launch in the Caribbean.

“I worked on creating visualizations for the outputs created by the AI models, which included a research into the visualization software,” she said. “I also carried out a lot of site testing since we were close to launching the AI portal, making a log of any errors and usability issues which arose.”

With the assistance and support from two promising tech-savvy Caymanians, Coleman and Clarke, NeuralStudio SEZC launched the neuralstudio.ai®, the Microsoft Azure (cloud) based gateway in the summer of 2018. The innovative portal uses AI to build AI – producing deep learning neural networks for prediction, classification, and clustering applications in users’ problem domains. neuralstudio.ai eliminates the need for experts in neural network technology – allowing users to focus on data sources and integrating AI into organizational decision support systems.

Throughout the internship placement, Copper and Clarke encouraged Coleman to do some problem solving of her own, which she says gave her confidence and a newfound respect for the amount of work that goes into computer programming and software development.

“At university it's easy to get help from professors and teaching assistants when doing assignments, being encouraged to figure something out on my own first helped to give me a much more open-minded approach to problem solving, which will undoubtedly help me in my future career.”

Coleman added that working for NeuralStudio SEZC also taught her the importance of having great colleagues on the job. “Staring at a computer for eight hours a day isn't always exciting but working with Jack and Jamal really motivated me, and their passion for this project was a real driving force for me when I got stuck on something.”

Coleman applied for the “Summer in the City” programme hoping to find an internship where she could apply her engineering skills, certain that experience in machine learning and computer programming would help with her studies.

Latecia Bush and Hollie Coleman attending a Summer in the City networking event hosted at the National Gallery.

“My dream job would be working in the aerospace industry, either as a system engineer or in the field of aerodynamics. Software is a huge part in the development of aviation, and I really like airplanes. This was the perfect internship placement to equip me with the experience I need.”

Coleman is a fourth-year University of Virginia student, who is attending college on a Cayman Islands Government Scholarship, and also minoring in astronomy. She is a director on the Engineering Student Council at university and a member of the women's club rugby team. Coleman plans to return to Cayman after graduation and says the internship at CEC has helped prepare her for the future.

“I want to thank Cayman Enterprise City for creating a program that allows students like me to get technology and engineering related internships that will help students secure the jobs of the future.”

 To learn more about neuralstudio.ai® click here.

To apply for the 2019 "Summer in the City" Internship programme click here.

Interested in acquiring the same experience as Hollie Coleman? “Summer in the City” registration is now open for 2019!

The Cayman Enterprise City internship programme is open to Caymanians and residents of the Cayman Islands between the ages of 18-25 and lasts for one to two months during the summer months. Areas of placement include: Internet Technology, Science & Technology, Commodities & Derivatives, Maritime & Aviation Services, Client Services & Business Operations, Marketing & Communications, Urban Planning & Development. For more information email Bianca at B.Mora@caymanenterprisecity.com or apply now by completing this 10 minute survey.