Training and resources

We intend to build a clearinghouse of internal and public resources for NOAA, that leverage standard development environments including Google Colab offsite link, Binder offsite link, and Github offsite link. Our goal is to offer a library to search, discover, and tailor accessible knowledge. From tutorials to best practices, we aspire to offer materials, training, and ideas.

As part of the NOAA Artificial Intelligence strategy, NCAI conducted a pilot training resource gap assessment in Spring 2021. The primary purpose of the assessment was to gather training deficiencies, needs, and priorities across the NOAA workforce.

Survey respondents agreed that NOAA currently lacks sufficient access to training to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) in ways that would contribute to the overall NOAA mission. Respondents indicated that this prohibits the ability of the workforce to become AI literate and proficient. At all levels of NOAA and with different roles in the AI development cycle (i.e., practitioner, user, manager), respondents requested access to NOAA-specific training material using NOAA data and computing resources to remove common barriers to the “Research to Operations, Applications, and Services” pipeline.

To address the workforce training needs, resource creation should be prioritized to convert NOAA AI success stories into interactive training material in a computing environment that allows the workforce to immediately apply learning outcomes to support NOAA’s mission via the AI strategy.

Image caption: NOAA training action priority lifecycle highlighted by workforce role and relationship to AI.