Opportunities for Students
Students in the Department of Computer Science at UA Little Rock have numerous opportunities to explore, such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
Self-driving cars. Smart speakers. Language translation. These problems are too difficult to tackle using traditional computer programming techniques. Instead, we use software that learns how to drive cars, software that understands a human conversation, and software that translates Spanish to English. This is artificial intelligence.
The Department of Computer Science at UA Little Rock prepares students to work in this exciting and growing areas of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
Discipline Description
Machine learning is the area of artificial intelligence (AI) that develops “software that learns.” Forbes Magazine forecasted 2019 as the year AI moves into the mainstream, and the inference is certainly proving to be accurate. Throughout general advertising today, we hear references to IBM’s Watson, Amazon Machine Learning, Azure Machine Learning, etc. ML is rapidly becoming a necessary tool for building and for maintaining a competitive advantage and, of course, for developing world-class machine chess and poker players.
According to expersystem.com, machine learning enables analysis of massive quantities of data and generally delivers faster, more accurate results in order to identify profitable opportunities and dangerous risks. Combining ML with AI and other cognitive technologies can make ML even more effective in processing large volumes of information.
Job Opportunities
Gartner estimates AI will create 2.3 million new jobs in 2020. The World Economic Forum estimates that by 2022, AI will generate 133 million new jobs. Here are a few of the exciting opportunities for lucrative and sustainable careers in ML, AI, and in related fields:
- ML engineer: $146,085
- Data scientist: $126,927
- Computer vision engineer: $126,399
- Data warehouse architect: $126,000
- Algorithm engineer: $109,313
As for Artificial Intelligence, LinkedIn data shows the field of artificial intelligence specialist hiring has grown 74 percent in the last four years. Fifteen percent of companies report using AI in 2021; by next year that figure is expected to double. The A.I. hardware market valuation is expected to climb up to $87.68 billion by 2026.
The average annual salary for an ML engineer is currently $146,085 with a growth rate of 344%. It’s estimated that the American deep learning and machine learning markets will reach a value of $80 million by 2025.
Projects
Currently, undergraduate and graduate students at UA Little Rock are participating in several projects in machine learning and in artificial intelligence with numerous funding sources. These include the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, NATO, Nokia, and local companies. Our students have taken advantage of opportunities with companies such as Google, Nokia Corporation, and Amazon as well as local companies.
Machine learning is achieved using extensive resources and datasets such as Internet2 (a member-driven advanced technology community), Trustedci.org (the NSF Cybersecurity Center of Excellence), and carcc.org (the Campus Research Computing Consortium). Expertise in machine learning at UA Little Rock is enhanced through project-based learning in the classroom. Students in the Department of Computer Science at UA Little Rock are prepared for and can obtain at no cost, certificates from NVIDIA resulting from the Department’s collaboration with the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute.
For more information, contact:
Dr. Mariofanna Milanova
Office: EIT 564
mgmilanova@ualr.edu
