Ethel Projects

Potential Masters and Semester Projects associated with Ethel

Last updated July 30, 2024.

A steampunk-style machine at a university — What Ethel will look like - and you can help building it!

There are opportunities to carry out masters and semester projects with Ethel and the ETH AI Center. Your thesis project can help the next generation of students.

IMPORTANT: You will need a main academic advisor at your home department or home institution. It is your responsibility to find an academic advisor who will work with you and with us. We can serve as co-advisors and work with you on a regular base.

While Ethel is being built, thesis work will mainly involve software and systems engineering, but you will also work with faculty and students in pilot courses. Projects need to include an evaluation and ideally publication component. The following areas are of particular interest:

Retrieval Augmented Generation based on lecture scripts, slides, exercises, recordings, and other artifacts generated in STEM courses. In particular:
- Setting up automated processing pipelines for different content materials
- Transcription of voice and video images (in particular of blackboard, document camera, and tablet writing and drawings)
- Document management
AI-supported assessment
- Working on AI-assisted formative assessment solutions (homework, exercises)
- Annotation of freeform learner artifacts (e.g., handwritten problem solutions, derivations, and proofs)
- Grading support of summative assessments (e.g., quizzes and exams)
- Evaluation of Jupyter Notebooks
- Generating interactive exercise problems
AI for accessibility of learning resources
- Content processing for learners with disabilities
AI mathematical abilities
- Combining generative AI with symbolical and numerical math tools

You will need to master or quickly work your way deeply into a variety of techniques and technologies, including (in no particular order):

Python
LangChain LCEL
Chainlit
Retrieval Augmented Generation and embeddings
LaTeX
JavaScript
Azure AI Services
Docker
Kubernetes
nginx
Microservices architecture
MongoDB/GridFS
PostgreSQL
React

Interested? Contact Gerd Kortemeyer,