More than 4,000 students have completed hands-on artificial intelligence training through two externship programs developed by Outamation, a mortgage operations technology company, and Extern, a platform that connects students with real-world work experience. The programs, announced in Dallas, were designed to bridge the gap between learning about AI and applying it in a professional setting. Instead of studying theory, students worked with sample mortgage documents to build AI tools and delivered their findings directly to Outamation, mirroring the workflow of a professional technology team.
The collaboration produced two levels of learning: a seven-week Foundational externship introducing AI, natural language processing, and computer vision, and a five-week Advanced program where students fine-tuned their own AI models and built multi-step AI agents to automate document workflows. Participants trained AI to recognize common mortgage document types and wrote Python code to extract key information automatically. They also built systems that answer questions about documents and tested open-source AI models, skills that apply across finance, real estate, and other industries. Advanced participants presented their recommendations to Outamation stakeholders, comparing models on accuracy, cost, and ease of use.
The scale of the initiative is notable: students from 934 schools and 59 countries took part, regardless of location or background. This open-access approach demonstrates that AI skills training can reach a global audience, potentially diversifying the talent pipeline for employers. The programs were built with curriculum created by Outamation’s mortgage domain experts and AI engineers. Nirmal Patel, Outamation’s Chief AI Officer, led program design, with support from Devang Kamdar, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer. Mike Eng, Head of Partnerships, led the effort for Extern.
“Every student today will build a career alongside AI. The question is whether they learn it by doing real work or by watching from the sidelines,” said Lisa Guadagno, Chief People Officer of Outamation. “More than 4,000 students chose to do the work. Our job as employers is to give the next generation the tools and the opportunity to succeed.”
“AI skills on their own are not enough. Students learn the most when they solve real business problems with people who know the industry and people who know the technology,” said Sapan Bafna, Founder & CEO of Outamation. “Our mortgage experts and AI engineers designed this curriculum together. Students learned to use AI the way it is used on the job.”
For employers, the initiative offers a model for talent development that doesn’t require building an internal program from scratch. “Most companies stay out of this because they picture a program they would have to build and staff. Taking that burden on is what Extern is for,” said Matt Wilkerson, CEO at Extern. “Outamation handed students a real problem and got independent evaluations of the open-source AI models their own team is weighing in return. Having to make a recommendation and defend it to the people who will act on it is the part no course can simulate.”
Building on these results, Outamation and Extern will work together on a new program built to evolve alongside advances in AI, so students continue learning the skills employers will need next. Students interested in future programs can learn more at www.extern.com. The partnership’s success underscores a growing trend: as AI transforms industries, hands-on externships may become a critical pathway for developing a workforce that can apply AI effectively from day one.
