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Connecting Alabama Students with Meaningful Careers in Data and AI
On July 31, the Alabama Data Scholars (ADS) program concluded another successful summer by celebrating the accomplishments of its 2026 cohort during the Alabama Data Scholars Showcase. The event marked the culmination of an eight-week paid internship program designed to connect Alabama high school and undergraduate students with meaningful work-based learning opportunities in data, artificial intelligence, analytics, and emerging technologies. More than a showcase of final projects, the event demonstrated how students can apply classroom learning to solve real business and community challenges across the state.
Powered by QuantHub and made possible through Innovate Alabama, the Alabama Data Scholars program continues to strengthen Alabama’s workforce pipeline by creating opportunities for students to gain professional experience before entering the workforce. This summer, 52 Alabama Data Scholars worked alongside mentors at 23 employer partners representing industries ranging from healthcare and finance to legal services, engineering, nonprofits, economic development, manufacturing, and technology. Throughout the summer, students paired technical learning through QuantHub’s AI curriculum with hands-on projects that addressed real organizational needs.
What makes Alabama Data Scholars unique is the breadth of experiences available to students. Rather than completing hypothetical classroom exercises, interns spent the summer designing AI workflows, building dashboards, automating business processes, developing applications, conducting market research, creating data visualizations, engineering prompts for large language models, and solving operational challenges for employers across Alabama. Their Showcase presentations highlighted not only technical achievement but also the professional communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills that employers increasingly value.
AI, Automation, and Business Innovation in Action
Many projects demonstrated how students are already using AI to improve organizational efficiency. At Vivosphere, Evan Wang designed an autonomous competitive intelligence workflow that automatically monitored competitor websites and Google News using BrowseAI, Make.com, large language models, Google Sheets, and Outlook. The system filters relevant updates, organizes findings, and delivers concise reports automatically—giving the company an efficient way to stay informed while dramatically reducing manual research.
At Joey James Law Firm, Ethan Elliott explored one of AI’s fastest-growing professional disciplines: prompt engineering. His internship focused on researching, testing, and documenting prompting techniques that improve the reliability of locally deployed AI models used in legal workflows. By comparing prompting strategies, reducing hallucinations, and creating documentation for future implementation, Ethan demonstrated how responsible AI adoption depends as much on thoughtful design as it does on the underlying technology.
Another standout example came from Waypoint Investments, where Alabama Data Scholars Jai Varikuti and Sai Vajaha helped create practical AI solutions for a network of moving companies. Their projects included MoveShare, an automated system that analyzes transportation routes to identify profitable backhaul opportunities and generates daily recommendation reports, as well as an AI Innovation Hub that teaches employees how to effectively integrate AI into their daily work. Their work showcased automation, Python development, cloud technologies, prompt engineering, documentation, and human-centered AI adoption—all while producing tools the company continues to use after the internship ended.
Solving Real Business Challenges Through Data
Several scholars focused on transforming complex business data into actionable insights. At Altec, Dallas Lewis conducted a nationwide sales analytics research study by interviewing account managers, analyzing business intelligence applications, and organizing qualitative data into structured findings that leadership can use when evaluating future analytics tools. His work combined business intelligence, data analysis, research methodology, and stakeholder communication to support strategic decision-making.
Dianna-Grace Nelson, interning with TMB Tax & Financial Services, tackled a common business challenge: fragmented data. She developed a custom Python ETL pipeline that automated data ingestion and cleaning while building a scoring engine that linked information across more than ten survey modules. Her solution automatically identified engagement trends, highlighted missing milestones, and prioritized clients requiring follow-up, replacing hours of manual spreadsheet work with scalable automation.
At Three Notch Group, Ansley Watson combined Python, SQL, Streamlit, and AI-assisted development to build operational dashboards supporting engineering projects while also helping automate financial reporting systems. By creating ticket management workflows and interactive dashboards that update automatically alongside Excel data, she demonstrated how AI and software development can streamline engineering and financial operations while maintaining data accuracy and usability.
Technology Creating Community Impact
Many internship projects focused not only on business efficiency but also on improving communities throughout Alabama. At United Way of Madison County, Itimu Buchanan helped develop the Live United mobile application, creating a centralized platform where residents can access community resources, prescription savings programs, volunteer opportunities, and donation initiatives. Through the project, she strengthened her skills in data visualization, responsible AI, customer validation, and product development while helping expand access to critical services.
Another inspiring example came from Forge Breast Cancer Survivor Center, where an Alabama Data Scholar researched and designed an AI chatbot concept to help breast cancer survivors, caregivers, and families quickly access transportation assistance, financial resources, educational materials, and mental health support. The project emphasized privacy, empathy, trust, and responsible AI design, demonstrating how technology can enhance—not replace—human-centered care.
Creativity and innovation also took center stage at LunarLab, where Cameron Fleming transformed a business idea into a fully designed mobile application experience. Through extensive market research, competitor analysis, wireframing, and user experience design, Cameron developed an AI-powered food management application featuring meal planning, expiration tracking, savings dashboards, family sharing, and grocery intelligence. The project illustrated how entrepreneurship, design thinking, and AI can come together to solve everyday problems.
Building Alabama’s Future Workforce
While every Showcase presentation reflected a different project, one theme remained constant: students left the program with greater confidence, stronger technical skills, and a clearer vision for their future careers. Many participants shared that the internship confirmed their interest in fields such as artificial intelligence, software engineering, finance, business analytics, cybersecurity, healthcare technology, and entrepreneurship. Just as importantly, they developed professional communication, teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving skills that will serve them throughout their careers.
The impact extends beyond the students themselves. Employer partners gained fresh perspectives, innovative solutions, and meaningful contributions to ongoing projects while helping cultivate Alabama’s future workforce. Programs like Alabama Data Scholars demonstrate that investing in students today creates stronger organizations tomorrow, giving employers access to emerging talent while helping students envision long-term careers within the state.
As the 2026 Alabama Data Scholars cohort concludes, excitement is already building for next summer. QuantHub, Innovate Alabama, and program sponsors—including RxBenefits and The University of Alabama in Huntsville—hope to expand opportunities by welcoming even more employer partners and serving more students across Alabama. The success of this year’s Showcase made one thing abundantly clear: Alabama’s next generation of AI and data leaders is already making an impact, and the future of innovation in the state has never looked brighter.
Make an Impact on Alabama’s Next Generation
As Alabama Data Scholars continues to grow, so does the opportunity to shape the future of Alabama’s workforce. Whether you’re an employer looking to develop tomorrow’s AI and data talent, an educator interested in expanding career pathways for your students, or a student eager to gain hands-on xperience solving real-world challenges, there’s a place for you in the program.
Learn more about the Alabama Data Scholars initiative, explore partnership opportunities, or apply opportunities by visiting: quanthub.com/intern/
Building off the success of the Data Scholars summer program, QuantHub is also partnering with the Alabama Office of Civic Engagement to expand internships into the fall. Encourage HBCU students to apply for the inaugural fall AI for Alabama internship cohort at quanthub.com/intern.
Together, we’re building the next generation of innovators who will power Alabama’s future.
Thanks to our Program Sponsors and Partners
On behalf of QuantHub and the Alabama Data Scholars program, we’d like to extend our sincere thanks to our sponsoring organizations, Birmingham Business Alliance, Innovate Alabama, RxBenefits, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville, whose support helped make these incredible opportunities possible.
We’d also like to thank the 26 partner organizations that hosted projects and provided mentorship to interns throughout the 2026 summer program. Their time, expertise, and commitment gave students the opportunity to gain meaningful, real-world experience.