30 October 2019
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Dr Donna O’Shea, Head of Department of Computer Science with the Master Graduates in Artificial Intelligence
Pic Darragh Kane
Leading the Way into a New Era of Artificial Intelligence
Today (October, 30th) sees the graduation of the first full-time Masters in Artificial Intelligence (AI) class at Cork Institute of Technology (CIT). AI is the rapidly developing field of computer science which enables computers and machines to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence. CIT’s AI Masters graduates are the first students nationally to emerge equipped with the AI tools and knowledge to solve a broad range of problems across multiple AI-dependent industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, security, and finance, and across a wide range of AI applications from chess-playing robots and autonomous cars, to speech, image, and language processing, robotic manufacturing, and surveillance systems.
CIT’s AI Masters programme provides students with a unique opportunity to undertake exciting innovative ‘live’ research projects with key industry partners. One such research project, spearheaded by graduating CIT student, Vishal Kesti, under the supervision of his lecturer Dr Haithem Afli, and in collaboration with global AI leaders, Johnson Controls, investigated the application of AI in ‘Fake News detection’ in relation to modelling, predicting and dealing with migration flows to avoid tensions, and violence in the EU. The technology and materials developed during Vishal’s project were used to prepare a European Commission Horizon 2020 proposal that aims to address a recent EU funding call relating to Human factors, and social, societal, and organisational aspects of border and external security[1].
Of the 22 students graduating today, 4 have already progressed to PhD level with the remaining 18 heading into the bright new industrial world of AI, taking up promising careers with some of the world’s leading AI companies including General Motors (Artificial Intelligence Software Developer), Brain-tec (Software Engineer), Guidewire (AI Developer), Clearstream (Python Developer – Data Mining), United Technologies Research Company (Software Developer) and Qualcomm (Machine Learning Engineer).
Currently at CIT, there are 46 students enrolled in the full-time AI Master programme with a further 47 students engaging in the online version which is conducted on a part-time basis over a 2-year period. The online AI Masters programme comprises a wide variety of international students from Ireland, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Israel and Africa, many of whom are already employed in the industry and are upskilling to advance their careers.
CIT offers a comprehensive suite of fully online Computer Science programmes. All online programmes are delivered and accessed fully online using state of the art cloud-based technologies. Lectures are delivered online by night, streamed live over the Internet and recorded to facilitate easy playback to students.
For further information regarding CIT’s AI programmes, please see https://cs.cit.ie/ai
