As the only university in the Nordic countries, DTU has been selected by IBM to offer courses in the self-learning IT program Watson.
From spring 2015, MSc students at DTU can specialize in a new form of cognitive computing on a 13-week course in IBM's artificial intelligence, Watson. The course will be offered by DTU Compute in collaboration with IBM. DTU is one of the 15 universities outside the USA—and the only one in the Nordic region—that will be teaching Watson.
Watson is an advanced computer program which can understand questions while creating huge data volumes in a flexible way, just like the human brain. But much faster. Watson became world-famous in 2011 when the artificial intelligence beat two American masters in the quiz show Jeopardy. Since then, IBM has employed Watson for many serious purposes—from diagnosing cancer to selecting the right treatment over customer care to e-commerce and analyses.
Cognitive computing covers self-learning IT systems capable of interacting naturally with people, which is a well-established teaching and research area at DTU. Cognitive computing is to a large extent being incorporated in businesses where the systems can assist with Big Data handling.
"By placing Watson in the hands of tomorrow's innovators, we are unleashing creativity in the academic environment"
Anders Quitzau, Head of Innovation, IBM Denmark
The new Watson course provides the students with a new and exciting approach to cognitive computing, says Lars Kai Hansen, Professor at DTU Compute:
"We will have a unique platform for introducing cognitive computing to our students. They are given the opportunity to be creative by developing apps that leverage Watson's artificial intelligence. These could be fun and entertaining apps—such as a DJ—or apps for medical purposes, which can predict the progression of a disease in a patient," explains Lars Kai Hansen.
IBM is looking forward to seeing how the students can benefit from working with Watson:
"By placing Watson in the hands of tomorrow's innovators, we are unleashing creativity in the academic environment. Having the students use Watson's intelligent services to develop new solutions will enable us to solve important and complex tasks," says Anders Quitzau, Head of Innovation, IBM Denmark.