Applications Open! Enroll for Summer 2027 at 2026 Tuition Pricing Until Sept 30
Build an original AI project for social impact in this two-week course for high school students on the University of Michigan campus.
Course Description
What could you build with AI if the goal were to improve something you care about? Students explore current generative AI tools, identify a social problem, and develop an original project from a blank page. No programming or computer science background is required. The course focuses on using AI thoughtfully to move from an idea to a working product.
Step-by-step workshops introduce ChatGPT or Claude, Lovable, and Cursor. Students learn how large language models generate responses, how AI agents can carry out connected tasks, and how retrieval-augmented generation and context engineering help a system use the right information. They practice prompting, testing, revising, and using vibe coding to turn plain-language instructions into product features.
During the second half, each student builds an individualized project with measurable social impact. Topics may include health and mental health, financial inclusion, engineering, sustainability, or education. Students define the purpose and target users, decide how they will measure impact, test the concept, and refine the product. They finish by assessing market fit and pitching the project in a format that can support competitions, research fairs, or a college portfolio.
This two-week course is part of Summer Discovery at the University of Michigan. The course is available to residential and commuter students. Beyond class, students connect focused academic work with campus life, growing independence, and clearer direction about what students may want to study or pursue next.
What Will You Do?
• Explore ChatGPT or Claude, Lovable, and Cursor through guided workshops
• Examine how large language models, AI agents, and retrieval tools work
• Use prompting, context engineering, and vibe coding to build product features
• Define a social problem, target users, and measurable impact
• Test an individualized AI product and assess its market fit
• Pitch the finished project for feedback and future opportunities
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Explain how generative AI models, agents, retrieval, and context shape product behavior
• Apply prompting and vibe-coding methods to build and improve an AI product
• Present a social-impact project with defined users, impact measures, and market fit
Students will leave with an original AI product and pitch they can continue refining for competitions, research fairs, or college portfolios, plus greater clarity about further study in AI or product development.
Why AI Product Development Skills Matter
Building with AI requires more than entering a prompt. Students need to define a problem clearly, choose relevant information, test outputs, notice where a system fails, and improve it through iteration. Those habits strengthen reasoning, communication, and product decision-making.
A social-impact project adds another layer: the product must serve real users and produce evidence of value. Defining an audience, measuring impact, and evaluating market fit help students connect technical choices to human needs. The same skills support research, entrepreneurship, design, and future study across many fields.
Who Should Attend?
This course is for high school students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade and are curious about generative AI and want to build something connected to a real issue. It is a strong fit for students interested in technology, entrepreneurship, design, research, health, sustainability, education, or social impact.
No programming or computer science background is required. Students should be ready to learn new tools, test and revise ideas, consider the needs of target users, and present a finished project. The experience can help students decide whether they want to pursue deeper work in AI, product development, or an application area they care about.
Recommended by More Than 9 out of 10 Students
Based on students surveyed in Summer Discovery’s 2026 program at the University of Michigan.
Why University of Michigan?
Programs on the University of Michigan campus give high-school students the experience of exploring an academic interest in Ann Arbor, a college town where campus and community life blend together. Tree-lined streets, downtown bookstores and cafés, the Nichols Arboretum, and trails near the Huron River create different ways to experience the setting beyond class.
Students learn alongside peers, navigate a large and active campus, and gain independence through everyday choices in a new environment. The experience helps students understand what university life can feel like while giving them space to deepen an interest without having every next step decided. For families, the program offers a meaningful combination of academic depth, community, personal growth, and clearer direction about what a student may want to study or pursue next.
AI Product Development in Action
AI product developers use generative models to create tools for healthcare, education, finance, engineering, and environmental work. They might build an assistant that helps people find services, a research tool that retrieves trusted information, or a workflow that helps an organization complete repetitive tasks.
The work draws on computer science, product design, user research, entrepreneurship, and subject expertise. Students who enjoy this course may want to explore AI, data science, human-computer interaction, business, public policy, or another field where technology is used to solve a defined problem.
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive