It’s no secret that artificial intelligence (AI) is taking the world by storm, leaving many professionals questioning the future of their industries.
“Many of our industry partners are asking questions like, ‘How does AI impact us? How does it impact our future as a manufacturing company? Or as a healthcare company? Or an insurance company?’” says Dr. Eric Baumgartner, executive vice president of academics at the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). “We took that advice and guidance and parlayed that into a full-blown master’s program, but we’ve broken it up into pieces that can be stand-alone, too.”
Two such pieces are a pair of graduate certificates — in applied machine learning and in machine learning engineering — that serve as continuing education for seasoned engineers. “These are really intended for folks who are most likely in a software development environment already,” Baumgartner explains, “but they don’t have background and understanding of the mathematics and techniques that underlie machine learning and artificial intelligence.”
In addition to AI as it relates to engineering, MSOE now offers a graduate certificate in Advanced Business Strategy Using AI and Analytics as well, which is intended for business leaders with at least three years of experience in a professional position.
Baumgartner says the coursework addresses questions such as:
• How do you use data?
• How do you wrangle data and put it into forms that’s useful to build models using artificial intelligence?
• Will using traditional analytics tools, like statistical analysis, help you gain insights into your business strategy?
“We’ve taken what are usually full-fledged masters programs and broken them out into bite-sized chunks that can be taken — and are valuable in their own right,” Baumgartner says, referring to both MSOE’s approach to continuing education and an industry trend nationwide. “They provide you with additional skills or techniques or knowledge that helps you advance in your career, or give you additional knowledge to help your company and are of great value for your company.”
Skills Trending Beyond AI
UW-Milwaukee also sees the value in AI-specific courses, offering a course titled “Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning,” says Dr. Nancy Nelson, provost’s deputy for continuing education with UWM’S School of Continuing Education.
“The School of Continuing Education at UWM is an authorized training partner with the Project Management Institute, which is globally recognized and sets the industry standards,” she says. Students are given the chance to bring real-world situations and challenges to the course — and then use techniques learned in the classroom to deliver quality projects on time and within budget.
“Data is a foundation of our digital age right now, so the data analytics course is also very popular,” Nelson continues. “There’s such an increase in the amount of data being collected. People have all this data, but they don’t know how to use it.”
Both theory and practical approaches to data are taught, she adds, and completion of the certificate includes eligibility for elective credits at UWM. “Learners can use that certificate toward a three-credit elective in our Master of Science in Information Technology Management program,” Nelson says.
Language Courses On The Uptick
Skills beyond AI are still trending, too, Nelson notes. Popular courses include data analytics, language learning, and project management.
“A lot of times, people who are traveling will take our language courses,” she explains. “Other times, people need to learn a new language because they’re in a more global organization and need to increase those skills so they can communicate with other people in the organization who may not be in the U.S.”
Courses are offered in the evenings and online, too, and, post-pandemic, learners now span nationwide, notes Angela Kelber, associate director of the Department of Continuing Education at UWM. “We used to have more in-person classes,” she says, “but now we have people from east to west coast in one classroom. It’s a great opportunity for the school.”
Management Leadership
Furthermore, Nelson says both employers and university advisory councils are placing greater emphasis on management and leadership development — and related certificates are thus trending, as well, given the demands on today’s leaders.
“A lot of our participants go into an organization and they know coding and data and all the technical skills, and that’s why they were hired, but they don’t have the leadership or management skills to move up within the organization,” she explains.
A person may be an excellent engineer and technically proficient, says Kelber, but lack the skills needed to effectively and efficiently lead a team of people, which is often required if he or she were to be promoted. Managing people in today’s age of remote work and virtual collaboration adds an additional layer of complexity, too, she adds, so each course is equipped with an instructor well-versed in real-world applications and expertise. MKE