Latest news with #Think
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Grand Canyon University, Lovelace partner on accelerated nursing program in Albuquerque
Jun. 3—Brandy Vandermolen loved the excitement and constant change of working in emergency medical services for seven years. Now, she wants to be on stable ground as a hospital nurse. Vandermolen, who lives in the Albuquerque area, will graduate from Grand Canyon University's new Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program in April to achieve this goal. The university's Albuquerque campus officially launched its program on Tuesday — an innovative partnership between the school and Lovelace Health System, which offers students hands-on learning through in-person clinical settings. The program, a 16-month curriculum that also includes online learning, directly addresses New Mexico's nursing shortage by putting professionals in the field faster. Stacey Fort, Lovelace director of education, said there are about 7,000 nursing jobs posted in New Mexico alone. Separately, the state could lose 5,140 nurses over the next 10 years, according to a 2024 Think New Mexico report. "We've had a nursing shortage for decades, but COVID really changed the whole scene of nursing staffing," Fort said. "New Mexico only has 16,000 practicing nurses. We need more than that." Danielle Edwards, GCU executive director of nursing services, said the program enrolls cohorts every spring, summer and fall semester. The university has similar setups across the country, including one in St. Louis, Missouri, that launched last year. She said each group has a maximum capacity of 48, adding that the goal is to keep these students in New Mexico upon graduation. The 16-month curriculum includes online coursework, in-person clinicals and immersive skills labs at GCU's Albuquerque campus, which received upgrades as part of its partnership with Lovelace. The GCU facility houses a student lounge, an immersive simulation suite, two skills labs and two classrooms. Edwards said construction began last August and was completed in December, ready to aid the first cohort of Albuquerque students who started classes in January, including Vandermolen. The collaboration also allows students to complete clinicals at Lovelace sites, giving them real-world experience and helping foster professional relationships with instructors. Fort said the partnership also provides Lovelace's staff with opportunities to grow by becoming GCU adjunct faculty. "Our instructors were nurses, so they bring a wealth of information," Vandermolen said. "Partnering with Lovelace and getting to go on their sites and meet the nurses that are working currently, talking with them and their experiences, and the things that they find important for us to know to implement in our care is really important."
Chicago Tribune
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Of Notoriety: Tina Turner tribute concert on tap with NWI Symphony Orchestra
NWI Symphony Conductor Kirk Muspratt 'tipped his hand' earlier this month during the final concerts of the 2025 season, providing his sly tease about some of the concert programming that awaits audiences next season. Muspratt, 71, now halfway through his two-year contract with the orchestra, celebrated his 25-year-anniversary leading the NWI Symphony. Themed as 'Pops Closer: The Music of Tina Turner,' the 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 22, 2026, concert salutes music icon Turner who died at age 83 in May 2023. It will be hosted at Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana and will star talents LaKisha Jones, Nova Y. Payton and Armando Imagines. Jones won over television music fans and the FOX TV 'American Idol' judges when she placed fourth on the sixth season in 2007 belting out her rendition of Aretha Franklin's 'Think.' I'm told music lyrics paired with images will guide audiences (ages 21 and older) on a journey through Tina Turner's legendary musical career with songs like 'What's Love Got to Do with It,' 'Disco Inferno,' 'Proud Mary' and others for a 'sentimental yet powerful' salute to the eight-time Grammy-winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. The fall date has also been announced for the annual NWI Symphony Gala on Friday, Oct. 10, with the theme 'Sabor Vivo!' and headliner entertainers Conjuncto combining classical training and theory with the freedom of jazz improvisation, all grounded in the lively rhythms of the Caribbean like the rumba, son, danzón, bolero and Afro-roots and then back to salsa and jazz. The full season will be announced to the public June 15 with details at the orchestra office at 219-836-0525 or The free summer concert dates are announced, all at 7:30 p.m. with Lansing on Friday, July 18 at Fox Pointe on 18138 Henry St., Gary on Friday, July 25 at Marquette Park at 1 N. Grand Blvd., Crown Point on Saturday, July 26 on the lawn at St. Anthony – Majestic Care at the corner of Main and Franciscan, Munster July 29 at Centennial Park on Calumet Ave. at Centennial Dr., Valparaiso on Wednesday, July 30 at Central Park Plaza at 63 Lafayette St., and Griffith at Central Park at 600 N. Broad St. Earlier this month, Muspratt's quarter-of-a-century with the NWI Symphony was feted with the unveiling of a new South Shore Line poster featuring Muspratt as imagined by artist John Rush and sponsored by Mechanical Concepts, Inc. The posters are available in the South Shore Arts Gift Shop at The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, 1040 Ridge Road in Munster and priced at $35 to $100 with autographed prints available. Muspratt divides his time with his duties and assignments as both maestro for the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra and also as music director of New Philharmonic Orchestra based in the suburb of Glen Ellyn, and artistic director and music director of DuPage Opera Theatre and New Philharmonic Opera, the latter as musical assignments he began in 2004. Raised in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, Muspratt will be recognized with another distinction this week for his passion and enthusiasm for music and music education by the University of Lethbridge when he is presented with an honorary degree at Spring 2025 Convocation at 9 a.m. Friday, May 30. 'Kirk Muspratt is remarkable for his unwavering commitment to make classical music accessible and enjoyable for all people,' ULethbridge Chancellor Terry Whitehead said. 'His unique approach breaks barriers and invites people, especially younger audiences, into the classical world, entertaining and educating all at once. He is richly deserving of an honorary degree.' Muspratt said his first piano lesson with Mrs. Madeline Pinkney after his first day of school is credited with shaping his musical career path. At age 6, he participated in music festivals in the Crowsnest Pass and, at age 8, he entered festivals in Lethbridge. He joined the Crowsnest Pass Symphony Orchestra at age 11, and after high school was accepted at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City. He went on to study at Temple University in Philadelphia and the Vienna Conservatory. Muspratt had a summer apprenticeship with Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood, the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer academy for advanced music study. Muspratt implemented an Orchestral Fellowship Program with Valparaiso University, and his vision helped found the South Shore Music Festival. His career has included serving as assistant conductor at the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, music director of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, associate conductor at the Utah Symphony Orchestra, resident conductor at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and music director of the Alberta Ballet. To view the maestro's honorary degree ceremony for free go online:
Korea Herald
23-05-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Whale Secures $60 Million to Expand its Enterprise AI Suite Globally
SINGAPORE, May 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Whale, a Singapore-based enterprise Artificial Intelligence company, has announced the successful completion of two consecutive funding rounds— Series C1 and Series C2 —raising a total of over USD 60 million. In its May 2025 Series C2 round, Whale brought in new strategic investors, including BOSCH Ventures, MTR Lab, Singtel Innov8, MDI Ventures, and Gentree Fund. This follows the Series C1 round completed in 2023 which had participation from existing investor Temasek and Linear Capital. Products AI to See, Hear, Express, and Think Whale builds AI-native enterprise product solutions designed to help businesses automate operations, accelerate decision-making, and gain deeper customer insight. Its platform integrates advanced AI, IoT, and data infrastructure technologies—offering a secure and scalable foundation for intelligent business transformation. With over 60 fine-tuned private AI models built specifically for enterprise use, Whale continues to invest heavily in generative AI, IoT infrastructure, and data operations. Overview Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Singapore, Whale supports over 600 enterprise customers across more than 20 countries. Its AI solutions power a diverse range of industries, including fashion, luxury, food and beverage, consumer electronics, retail, healthcare, and automotive.
Irish Independent
20-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Google launches AI ‘agents' to pick and pay for your everyday online shopping
The tech giant has unveiled a new feature at its 'I/O' conference that will let an AI 'agent' suggest, pick and even pay for things on your behalf. The new AI shopping feature will use Google's access to 50 billion product listings, from small boutiques to large chains, to incorporate details like reviews, prices, colour options and availability. 'Behind the scenes, we'll add the item to your cart on the merchant's site and securely complete the checkout on your behalf,' the company says. 'When you've made up your mind, our new agentic checkout will help you easily buy at a price that fits your budget.' Google says that the information will be updated constantly, with two billion product listings updated every hour. The feature is initially being launched in the US. The tech giant also unveiled a new feature that will allow people to virtually try on billions of clothes listings from online shops by uploading a photo of themselves. 'When you're shopping for shirts, pants, skirts and dresses on Google, simply tap the 'try it on' icon on product listings,' the company says. 'From there you can upload a full-length photo of yourself and within moments, you'll see how that wedding-season maxi dress or playful shirt for your next vacation looks on you.' Google says that the feature is powered by a new custom image generation model for fashion, which understands the human body and nuances of clothing, like how different materials fold, stretch and drape on different bodies. 'It preserves these subtleties when applied to poses in your photos,' the company says. The "try on" experiment is rolling out in Search Labs in the US today. The new online features were announced as part of a slew of new AI enhancements and services at Google's annual I/O conference in the US. The tech giant, which is in an AI arms race against Microsoft-backed OpenAI, has deepened the integration of AI into its globally-dominant Google search engine with a new 'AI Mode' available in the US. Google is also giving real-time speech translation a reinvigorated shot with a new Al-powered feature that instantly translates spoken languages between participants 'in real-time, preserving the quality, nuance, and personality in their voices, so you can communicate naturally with anyone, regardless of their native languages'. Separately, Google will make its high-end Gemini 2.5 Flash and Pro tiers 'generally available' soon, the company says. It will also launch Deep Think, an enhanced reasoning mode in Gemini 2.5 Pro, with higher performance on complex maths and coding tasks. The company is also introducing a new top-tier AI subscription plan, Google Al Ultra, 'with the highest usage limits and access to our most capable models and premium features'. This new plan will initially roll out in the US for $250 (€224) per month, Generative media models with Imagen 4 and Veo 3, its video and image generation models with native audio generation, will also be introduced, the company said. And there's expanded access to Lyria 2, 'giving musicians more tools to create music', while a new Al filmmaking tool called 'Flow' is also being launched. Google is also enhancing its AI-based coding capabilities via a public beta of 'Jules', an asynchronous agentic coding assistant that integrates directly with a coder's existing repositories and handles tasks on the user's behalf. Meanwhile, camera and screenshare capabilities will be available to everyone on Android and iOS. "More intelligence is available, for everyone, everywhere,' said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and (parent firm) Alphabet. 'And the world is responding, adopting Al faster than ever before. What all this progress means is that we're in a new phase of the Al platform shift. Where decades of research are now becoming reality for people, businesses and communities all over the world."
Tom's Guide
13-05-2025
- Tom's Guide
Grok 3 is free to all X users — here's how to use it
Regardless of what you may think of Elon Musk's X, there is no denying that xAI's Grok 3 is one of the best chatbots out there. It goes way beyond the basic conversation model that we've become accustomed to in recent times, by adding some very useful features such as DeepSearch and Think. These are designed to make research more comprehensive while helping people to solve coding, science and math problems. In a nutshell, it's xAI's most advanced model, with the added advantage of accessing both the web and posts on X. What's more, you don't need to pay a penny to use it because it's been given a free release, meaning it's not restricted to Premium users. So, let's take a look at how you can access it and delve into what Grok 3 (and Grok in general) can do. When you sign into X in a browser, you can select Grok from the menu to the left. This will take you straight to the Grok homescreen. You can also visit or access Grok via mobile apps for iOS and Android. Grok is like rival chatbots such as ChatGPT. You can enter a prompt about pretty much anything, from general knowledge to complex reasoning tasks. Grok 3 is able to draw information from websites as well as from posts on X so you can use it to tap into up-to-date trends. For example, you could write: "What are people saying about the impact of US tariffs on technology?" and it will give a concise overview, in some cases picking out particular X users and giving specific examples. Assuming you've uploaded a profile image of yourself, you can tap Draw Me underneath the Grok prompt box. This will allow Grok to use your image to quickly create artwork in a range of styles and it's a good way to explore what Grok can do. It will give you some extra prompts that you may want to try, too. DeepSearch is a very powerful tool which can replace a traditional search engine if you're looking to generate reports on a topic. It has strong reasoning capabilities and it has been created to "seek the truth". It will take information and weigh up conflicting facts and opinions to deliver a comprehensive report using up-to-date sources, so it's great for scientific research or getting more information about something in the news. But that's not all. Click the DeepSearch button to get an idea of some of the things you can ask for and you'll find it's capable of creating in-depth, up-to-date itineraries for your trips and summarising reviews of products. Some problems can only be solved if you think long and hard, so why not delegate that task to Grok? Click Think and you'll get an idea of the type of deep questions you can ask of it — click the questions for answers or use them to inspire similar queries. In general, Think is designed to solve the most difficult science, coding and math issues so be challenging and deep. You can upload a wide range of files for Grok to process — from JPG and PNG images to PDFs, text files, CSVs, XML, Excel, and Word documents. You can then instruct Grok to use the file in combination with your prompts – files can be analysed and images can be worked on and edited. You can ask Grok to perform many tasks that you may otherwise turn to Photoshop to carry out. You could, for example, upload an image and get Grok to produce it in a different style, or ask for an object to be added. Backgrounds can be altered or removed and the feeling of an image can be changed. It makes editing images so easy. You can tell Grok which sources you want it to access. Select the Filter icon in the prompt box and you can use the toggles next to web search, X search, X media search and trends search to activate or deactivate them. If you select DeepSearch from this menu, you can go beyond DeepSearch and opt for DeeperSearch which is even more reasoned and makes use of more sources. And there you go! You now have a better idea of how to use Grok 3 and Grok in general. There are loads of other things it can do, though. Learn how to create a video game using Grok and discover how to use Grok's free new Studio AI tool make a website, research paper and browser game. And, just as importantly, you can find out how to stop Grok from training on your X posts. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
