University of Bradford students form new AI society

Students from the MSc in Applied Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics programme have described it as an “important” move, given the significant role that AI continues to play in our lives.

The course is attracting students from all quarters, including graduates in nursing, physics, engineering and industrial chemistry.

Stefania Amankwah-tia, who holds a BSc in adult nursing and plans to become a healthcare data analyst, said: “I graduated in nursing from Bradford in 2018 and went straight into working as a staff nurse at Bradford Royal Infirmary at the height of the pandemic.

“I returned to education because I think AI has so much potential to transform how healthcare is delivered.

“This course has been life-changing. AI is going to touch everything, and has so many possibilities - that’s why I think this course is so important. To be part of that transformation is amazing.”

Stefania Amankwah-tia (second from left) with some fellow members of the AI Society

Students Alex Umagba, a computer science graduate, Moshood Yahaya (BSc in petroleum engineering), and Sebastian Obeta (BSc in physics) formed the society earlier this year, and it already has over 200 members.

President of the Applied Artificial Intelligence Society, Moshood, who already has a job lined up in machine learning for an African fin-tech company, said: “Our vision is to create a centre of excellence for data science capacity building and skills development.

“This will not only make the University of Bradford the number one institution of reference for data science recruiters in the West Yorkshire region, but also in the entire UK, in a couple of years.”

The University of Bradford was awarded £1.4m by the Office for Students (OfS), Department for Culture, Media and Sport to run the programme.

The funding provides for 60 scholarships, each worth £10,000, to attract graduates underrepresented in the sector.

The course is supported by content from leading industry players including Amazon Web Services (AWS) Academy, UKBlackTech and SAS UK.

Associate Professor and the Programme Leader for the MSc Applied AI and Data Analytics programme, Dr Kamran Mahroof, said: “I am really proud of the students for setting up this society.

“We identified the need for creative and innovative ways to bridge the technical gap between students in the cohort, and our students took the initiative.”