As part of a collaboration with Google, the University of East Anglia (UEA) will incorporate machine learning education into its course portfolio. This partnership will provide UEA students with the opportunity to learn artificial intelligence skills using TensorFlow.js, making them among the first in the country to offering machine learning courses.
Starting from September, UEA students will collaborate with Google’s TensorFlow team. Through this program, they will acquire essential skills in web-based Machine Learning (ML), a form of artificial intelligence. ML involves machines learning and improving from experience without explicit coding and is gaining popularity rapidly.
TensorFlow, a free and open-source software library, is dedicated to machine learning and artificial intelligence. It has a strong emphasis on training and inference of deep neural networks, and it can be used in various programming languages such as Python, JavaScript, C++, and Java. Its flexibility enables applications in diverse sectors.
The UEA stated that until now, ML has primarily been accessible to Python users, leaving web engineers who utilise JavaScript at a disadvantage.
Professor Gerard Parr, Head of UEA’s School of Computing Sciences, expressed his enthusiasm for incorporating this new content into upcoming courses: “We look forward to launching this new content in our upcoming courses throughout September 2023 onward to kickstart a new wave of Computer Scientists and Web Engineers graduating from UEA with cutting-edge skills that can enable them to stand out from the crowd and offer their future customers next generation web apps powered by AI and Machine Learning. In all of this, we will provide further technical skills to graduates from our courses at UEA that will be directly relevant to important sectors in the East of England and beyond.”
UEA will integrate machine learning syllabi and materials into several computing science course modules, including those focused on data mining, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. This collaboration is expected to significantly enhance students’ learning experiences and equip them with the advanced skills and knowledge necessary for becoming experts and changemakers in an era where AI and machine learning are increasingly prevalent across multiple industries.
Professor Parr believes this development opens up a world of possibilities for UEA students, setting them apart from many of their contemporaries, saying: “Leveraging the School of Computing Sciences experts in Web Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning, students will have the opportunity to deepen their knowledge through research and convert their research ideas into a production system using TensorFlow.js with local business partnerships and collaboration.”
Jason Mayes, Web ML lead at Google and on the TensorFlow.js team, said: “Having exposure to such tools will broaden the technical experience of UEA students and give them further transferable skills that will be attractive to an industry that is increasingly utilising machine learning across all business verticals.”
