Beyond Words: How Experiential Learning is Powering The Data Mine

Words alone don’t always tell the full story—context matters. Semantic computing is the field that bridges this gap, enabling machines to go beyond just processing text to truly understanding its meaning, intent, and relationships. By analyzing context, semantics, and structure, this technology is transforming how we interact with data, making AI more intuitive, accurate, and insightful.

Brian Lu and Dennis Pham, two Data Mine students, recently had the opportunity to explore this question firsthand at the International Conference on Semantic Computing (ICSC 2025). Over the course of several days, they engaged with peers, colleagues, and leading experts in the field, gaining invaluable insights into their current work and beyond.

“We were excited to see many papers that were closely related to our own work…”

How incredible is it to be a student, attending a conference, and realizing that the work you’re doing mirrors real-world challenges? The opportunity to see their research reflected in broader industry discussions was not only validating but also deeply inspiring.

“Attending the conference and hearing other research presentations helped broaden our understanding of the field and sparked new ideas for our own work.”

This is the power of hands-on experience—working with real-world data and problems, then stepping into a space where those same ideas are being applied on a global scale. Conversations with researchers, networking with professionals, and connecting with others who share the same interests don’t just inspire—it transforms how students think about their work.

The students found that one of the most thought-provoking moments came from keynote speaker Dick Bulterman, who challenged the audience with bold questions:

• Could computational truth help restore trust in public discourse?
• Could AI move beyond opinions and help resolve conflicts with provable facts?

For our students, these questions weren’t just theoretical—they were a call to action. The experience of attending ICSC 2025 reinforced the value of their work in The Data Mine, offering new perspectives and fresh approaches to the problems they’re tackling every day. This is why opportunities like this matter. When students step outside the classroom and into a experiential learning setting along with the opportunity to join a global research community, they don’t just learn—they discover new ways to think, collaborate, and innovate.

#FutureOfAI #SemanticComputing #TheDataMine #ICSC2025