CyberMentor: AI Powered Learning Tool Platform to Address Diverse Student Needs in Cybersecurity Education

Many non-traditional students in cybersecurity programs often lack access to advice from peers, family members and professors, which can hinder their educational experiences. Additionally, these students may not fully benefit from various LLM-powered AI assistants due to issues like content relevance, locality of advice, minimum expertise, and timing. This paper addresses these challenges by introducing an application designed to provide comprehensive support by answering questions related to knowledge, skills, and career preparation advice tailored to the needs of these students. We developed a learning tool platform, CyberMentor, to address the diverse needs and pain points of students majoring in cybersecurity. Powered by agentic workflow and Generative Large Language Models (LLMs), the platform leverages Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) for accurate and contextually relevant information retrieval to achieve accessibility and personalization. We demonstrated its value in addressing knowledge requirements for cybersecurity education and for career marketability, in tackling skill requirements for analytical and programming assignments, and in delivering real time on demand learning support. Using three use scenarios, we showcased CyberMentor in facilitating knowledge acquisition and career preparation and providing seamless skill-based guidance and support. We also employed the LangChain prompt-based evaluation methodology to evaluate the platform's impact, confirming its strong performance in helpfulness, correctness, and completeness. These results underscore the system's ability to support students in developing practical cybersecurity skills while improving equity and sustainability within higher education. Furthermore, CyberMentor's open-source design allows for adaptation across other disciplines, fostering educational innovation and broadening its potential impact.

Towards Automated Solution Recipe Generation for Industrial Asset Management with LLM

This study introduces a novel approach to Industrial Asset Management (IAM) by incorporating Conditional-Based Management (CBM) principles with the latest advancements in Large Language Models (LLMs). Our research introduces an automated model-building process, traditionally reliant on intensive collaboration between data scientists and domain experts. We present two primary innovations: a taxonomy-guided prompting generation that facilitates the automatic creation of AI solution recipes and a set of LLM pipelines designed to produce a solution recipe containing a set of artifacts composed of documents, sample data, and models for IAM. These pipelines, guided by standardized principles, enable the generation of initial solution templates for heterogeneous asset classes without direct human input, reducing reliance on extensive domain knowledge and enhancing automation. We evaluate our methodology by assessing asset health and sustainability across a spectrum of ten asset classes. Our findings illustrate the potential of LLMs and taxonomy-based LLM prompting pipelines in transforming asset management, offering a blueprint for subsequent research and development initiatives to be integrated into a rapid client solution.

Enhancing Computer Programming Education with LLMs: A Study on Effective Prompt Engineering for Python Code Generation

Large language models (LLMs) and prompt engineering hold significant potential for advancing computer programming education through personalized instruction. This paper explores this potential by investigating three critical research questions: the systematic categorization of prompt engineering strategies tailored to diverse educational needs, the empowerment of LLMs to solve complex problems beyond their inherent capabilities, and the establishment of a robust framework for evaluating and implementing these strategies. Our methodology involves categorizing programming questions based on educational requirements, applying various prompt engineering strategies, and assessing the effectiveness of LLM-generated responses. Experiments with GPT-4, GPT-4o, Llama3-8b, and Mixtral-8x7b models on datasets such as LeetCode and USACO reveal that GPT-4o consistently outperforms others, particularly with the "multi-step" prompt strategy. The results show that tailored prompt strategies significantly enhance LLM performance, with specific strategies recommended for foundational learning, competition preparation, and advanced problem-solving. This study underscores the crucial role of prompt engineering in maximizing the educational benefits of LLMs. By systematically categorizing and testing these strategies, we provide a comprehensive framework for both educators and students to optimize LLM-based learning experiences. Future research should focus on refining these strategies and addressing current LLM limitations to further enhance educational outcomes in computer programming instruction.