Empa: An AI-Powered Virtual Mentor for Developing Global Collaboration Skills in HPC Education

TL;DR

Empa is an AI-driven virtual mentor designed to enhance intercultural collaboration skills among HPC students, integrating structured cultural training into computing curricula to prepare students for global teamwork in computational research.

Contribution

This paper introduces Empa, a novel AI-powered platform that embeds intercultural collaboration training into HPC education using large language models and web deployment.

Findings

Empa effectively guides students through cultural and communication activities.

Pilot studies show feasibility of AI-mediated intercultural training.

Students develop improved skills for international research collaboration.

Abstract

High-performance computing (HPC) and parallel computing increasingly rely on global collaboration among diverse teams, yet traditional computing curricula inadequately prepare students for cross-cultural teamwork essential in modern computational research environments. This paper presents Empa, an AI-powered virtual mentor that integrates intercultural collaboration training into undergraduate computing education. Built using large language models and deployed through a progressive web application, Empa guides students through structured activities covering cultural dimensions, communication styles, and conflict resolution that are critical for effective multicultural teamwork. Our system addresses the growing need for culturally competent HPC professionals by helping computing students develop skills to collaborate effectively in international research teams, contribute to global computational projects, and navigate the cultural complexities inherent in distributed computing environments. Pilot preparation for deployment in computing courses demonstrates the feasibility of AI-mediated intercultural training and provides insights into scalable approaches for developing intercultural collaboration skills essential for HPC workforce development.