AI Business Academy strengthens companies’ artificial intelligence skills
- In the Turku region, a new kind of enterprise-oriented Artificial Intelligence training will be launched
- The training is intended to promote the utilization of AI technologies in companies
- The first training is provided by the University of Turku and Åbo Akademi
The utilization of new technologies in business has become a key success factor. Turku Science Park Oy, Turku area universities and regional business organizations have jointly developed a new way of learning Artificial Intelligence and AI-based technologies in the new AI Business Academy (AIBA) university education. The training is specifically designed for the needs of SMEs.
Artificial intelligence-based technologies are revolutionizing industries by supporting business operations such as analytics and automation. The changes are expected to be significant across all industries and will affect companies of all sizes, including small businesses.
– Organizations in our area need to adhere to practical AI implementations. This may mean developing your own new applications, but to a greater extent, leveraging existing AI solutions. This is the message from the Ministry of Employment and the Economy’s recent artificial intelligence strategy. This was also highlighted in our company survey released earlier this year, says Michael Lindholm, Account Manager with TechTurku, one of the focus areas within Turku Science Park Oy.
He says that technology can only be exploited by getting to know different solutions and understanding how the solutions can be used in one’s own business. AIBA is a practical way to learn how AI solutions can be deployed and the challenges that technology brings. AIBA enables product and service pilots to be launched, for theses or research for example. The aim is also to network businesses, cities and municipalities and the hospital districts.
The first AIBA training starts in autumn will be conducted by the University of Turku in cooperation with Åbo Akademi. The trainings are built around different themes. The first theme in October 2019 will be customer care-related technologies.
– We chose it because in all companies, customer service is essential in one way or another. In the future, training may also be tailored to a narrower target group, such as doctors, nurses or other specific industries such as production or sustainability.
– AIBA training has been designed according to the AI development process. Business case, data, ethics and validation are in the focus. Programming of solutions are touched on during the course, even though the trainees do not train programmers, nor do they need programming skills, Lindholm says.
The course, which begins the last week in October, is designed for companies who want to learn how to use artificial intelligence in their own business. The aim is to promote the launch of AI pilot projects in participating companies. Part of the course is conducted in the participant’s own organization. A maximum of 2 people from each company can attend each course. The number of companies that can attend the two-month course is limited to 20-30.
AI Business Academy was launched on Friday at the SHIFT Business Festival in Turku.
Read more on Turku Region AI technology cluster web site.