AI: THWS becomes Würzburg's pioneer

Artificial intelligence is taking one industry sector after the other. The new master's programme at THWS aims to tackle the AI skills shortage. Programme insiders talk about the start of their studies.

AI is anything but a buzzword: THWS knows all about the multi-faceted applications of artificial intelligence. The assistant robot "Fiwi", for example, answers administrative questions of visitors to the Faculty of Computer Science. The department of geoinformatics and remote sensing uses AI and special satellite data for improved mapping of the condition of the rainforest in Amazonia. THWS-student Tim Selig even combined chess and AI by developing a chess programme called "ChessRoberta", which is a robotic arm that turns playing chess by oneself into a social activity. But what links the growing presence of AI to the wine city of Würzburg?

When artificial intelligence meets Würzburg

Among relevant experts, Germany is considered one of the countries with the best perspectives for AI experts, together with the USA and India. The city of Würzburg plays a major role in this, in light of the Bavarian Hightech Agenda as well as the AI strategy of the Bavarian state government. For a majority of regional companies, AI is an important future technology with enormous economic potential. However, working in companies requires a certain degree of technical know-how. To save the many AI projects from the looming deadlock, local companies desperately need qualified employees. The newly implemented master's programme Artificial Intelligence aims to tackle exactly this shortage.

"What makes our degree programme so special is that it is taught completely in English, and that our focus is placed on the application of AI", Schleif emphasises and indicates the contents of the three programme semesters. In the first two semesters, the main topics are semantics, neuronal networks and traditional topics of machine learning. The scope of application of semantics, for example, facilitates searching for and retrieving information. Machine learning on the other hand is an approach that teaches a computer to deduct a pattern or a rule from general data – for example to distinguish an apple from a pear.

Other parts of the syllabus are holistic topics like ethics and interpretable models. "It is about looking outside the box", Schleif raves about what characterises the degree programme. In the third semester, students complete their master's theses. "Here you show what you have learnt, either at the University or in collaboration with the industry", says the programme director.

AI studies also an option for lateral entry?

The AI degree programme can certainly also be a worthwhile option for lateral entrants. According to Jochen Schmidt, master's student of the first cohort, this is "even doable without a technical background, but might be a lot more demanding". Vincent Wahyudi, a master’s student from Indonesia, also needed quite some time to get used to the programme as his bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering didn't include much AI. Nostalgically, he looks back on these past two semesters. "Back then in my bachelor's degree programme, I did not have specific programming courses. Thus, almost everything was new for me in the first semester. Now, at the end of the second semester, I have started to see the big picture", says Wahyudi. "Now, I enjoy unravelling the world of neuronal networks, of reinforcement learning and of programming as a whole."

Wahyudi's case shows that it is also possible for lateral entrants to set foot in the world of AI. Students get to know various disciplines of computer science, mathematics, physics and cognitive sciences, which all promote better understanding of digitisation. The subject AI additionally enables significant deepening of knowledge in specialist disciplines like logistics, algorithms and human-machine interaction.

He mentions Hidden Champions and also smaller companies as potential employers, which are not only concerned with AI and intelligent systems but also with data science in general. For some prospective master’s graduates, like Marius Benkert, graduation does not only point to one job. He optimistically says: "I am currently still considering whether I want to directly start working in the industry, or if I still want to complete a doctorate."

In a dissertation, Benkert would deal with the opportunities of artificial intelligence, but also its limitations. In order to realise the disruptive potential of AI for research and teaching, THWS has founded a competence centre in Würzburg: the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIRO). CAIRO serves as a kind of repository for AI fans. It deals with current AI topics and uses data-based approaches to cover a broad spectrum of potential applications of the industrial practice, robotics and areas like natural language processing. At CAIRO, students have the opportunity to leave the lecture hall and to practically work on solving practical, data analytical problems that often come from the local economy.

Bottom line: Can the AI master's at THWS be recommended?

Thanks to the wide use of machine learning in the automation of Industry 4.0, the job market is booming as well. Consequently, studying AI-subjects is trendy, too. Numerous other higher education institutions are offering similar degree programmes. What sets THWS apart from other institutions? "The special characteristic surely is the location", says Professor Dr. Schleif. His reasons: Würzburg’s proximity to cities like Munich, Ingolstadt and Nuremberg has turned the city into an "AI-node" in the Bavarian AI-network. These nodes function as anchor and linking points that companies and institutions can use to become part of the Bavarian AI network.

The outlook seems to be very bright. But can the master’s at THWS also be recommended without reservations? "Of course!", says Christeena Varghese, student from India, very enthusiastically. "The teaching methods at THWS are good. They are practice-oriented. We also develop theoretical knowledge."