Udacity, a digital learning and workforce skilling platform, launched a new “AI for Business Leaders” Executive Program in close cooperation with the BMW Group. The program introduces the technical foundations and business applications of artificial intelligence (AI) to executives responsible for making strategic technology decisions within their companies.
AI is transforming many aspects of the workplace. What is often missing, however, is the understanding within the management of how best to apply these new technologies to fully exploit their potential. To help management teams overcome this obstacle, Udacity has worked closely with the BMW Group on the design and creation of the Executive Program. The BMW Group has been skilling its employees for over two years using Udacity’s courses, with a particular focus on data analysis and machine learning.
“Udacity is unique in its approach to creating technical education with global corporate partners. This partnership with BMW is the latest, and one of the most important, given the disruptive and innovative power of AI,” says Gabriel Dalporto, CEO of Udacity. “With the launch of this Executive Program, they are helping every business leader to harness new technologies in their quest for innovation.”
Sebastian Thrun, founder and Chairman of Udacity, announced the Executive Program “AI for Business Leaders” last week during his visit to the BMW Group in Munich.
This new Executive Program is divided into different phases in which participants learn to understand, apply, and evaluate AI and the data it leverages. For the capstone project, participants will then develop and implement an AI strategy for their own company or with a predefined business scenario for an automotive manufacturer, or a news and telecommunications conglomerate. The strategy needs to be technically achievable and highly impactful on the business, based on the evaluation of various AI-enabled use cases. The course will also cover emerging areas such as accuracy, bias, and ethics.
“Creating an AI course for business leaders so they can speak the same language as their engineers is challenging, but working with a variety of companies to understand the practical, technical, and commercial hurdles was incredibly insightful. Now, these learnings are available to all leaders who want to understand more about how to leverage AI to advance their business,” said Professor Erik Brynjolfsson, who worked with Udacity to develop this Executive Program. Professor Brynjolfsson is Director of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy, Schussel Family Professor at MIT, and co-author of The Second Machine Age.
The distinguishing elements of Udacity’s courses are the emphasis on real-world projects, commercial content and case studies, the thousands of industry experts who act as mentors to learners, and the ability to seamlessly integrate learning into working schedules while gaining a formal qualification.
