Indian students are flocking to pursue a master's qualification in artificial intelligence (AI) at a time when the development of computer science aimed at building machines that work and react like humans is finding increasingly accelerating applications.
The number of applications for master's degrees in artificial intelligence (AI) has more than doubled at universities in the United States and Europe. This is according to officials at schools such as Carnegie Mellon, Polytechnic University of Catalonia, KU Leuven, Radboud University, University of Edinburgh, University of Amsterdam and University of Georgia.
Currently, advanced talent in the AI industry is rare, which is why experts are in high demand. This is starting to change, however, as AI master's programs have attracted an increase in students in recent years.
Around 20 to 30 percent of college students are opting for AI over a general master's degree in business administration (MBA), said Arun Jagganath, who runs CrackVerbal consultancy in Bengaluru. “I think this trend is increasing because professionals are discovering that they need to pick a niche to be employable, and AI is where the work is,” he shared.
Most AI master's programs focus on data management, autonomous systems design, multi-agent systems, machine learning, and cognitive robotics. These are skills that will be required in many future applications in a variety of fields, including medicine, transportation, logistics, manufacturing, education and business management.
At Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science, AI is the central component of nine of the school's 20 programs. AI-centered master's degrees received the largest increase in applications last year, according to David Garlan, the school's associate dean for master's education. In 2018-19, he told a famous media publication, the school received more than 10,000 letters from India alone for around 650 seats.
At KU Leuven in Belgium, a one-year advanced master's program saw an overall 44% increase in applications last year, with Indian students following this trend as well, said Danny De Schreye, calendar studies consultant. “AI has been adopted considerably and companies need to recruit AI experts,” he added.
There is a sudden rush for a master's degree in AI because it is now considered "cool", said Richard Watson, program coordinator and senior lecturer at the University of Southampton.
“Successes in machine learning, deep and accurate learning, and other areas of AI have been big news lately,” he said. “For example, with investments and jobs in companies like Google DeepMind and the success of AlphaGo. High-profile applications at the border, such as driverless transport, are also attracting interest.”
Adarsh Khandelwal, who leads college admissions consultants Collegify, attributed the increase in demand for a master's degree in AI to companies hiring more students with this specialization. “What colleges offer is directly related to how the job market and demands are emerging. A few years ago, this specialization didn’t exist,” he said.
AI is attracting many students from India mainly because the topic is expected to offer a promising future. Here are some other statistics:
- The University of Sheffield in the UK witnessed a 55% increase in applications in one year from Indian students for its master's program in AI.
- At the University of Amsterdam, the number of Indian scholars in the AI master's program has tripled recently. The total number of students attending this course in the current academic year is 279.
- Utrecht University in the Netherlands said the number of Indian students has risen to 80 from around 30. This number is expected to rise to more than 100 in the next academic year.
- At Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands, there were 39 applicants from India for the AI program as of July 2017, more than last year.
A growing demand
The growing number of research labs and global technology companies in India is one of the main reasons why students in the country seek out technology and engineering programs (such as AI) as part of their secondary education.
“If I look at my field of electrical engineering and computer science, Intel, Samsung, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Google – they all hire PhDs,” explained Professor Abhay Karandikar, director of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT). he transferred to head IIT Kanpur just over a year ago after 22 years at IIT Bombay.
She said most IIT students today are pursuing MTech and PhD plans. This is a change from the period 20 to 30 years ago when 80 to 90 percent of students pursued a more general master's degree in business technology.
“India today has R&D areas (representing almost) all multinational companies…Cisco, Apple and Huawei,” he said. This means there are jobs available for graduates.
IIT Kanpur plans to open a medical school soon, Karandikar added. “We believe that the next contemporaries of healthcare research will come from materials science, computer science, chemistry, AI, robotics, etc.” IIT believes that offering a medical program different from traditional medical schools will greatly benefit students, thanks to its advanced engineering departments. The two departments could form a synergy that is currently not available in other medical programs.
Newer areas of study quickly become part of the IIT curriculum, according to Karandikar. “For example, we have courses in artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science. We are thinking of starting an MTech in data science at IIT Kanpur.”
“Before, most companies outsourced software development, but now they do basic analysis here,” he said, which is why getting a master's degree is so valuable. “Those with MTech have significant (opportunities),” he said, adding that the salary is typically very good for these graduates.
There is also a need for qualified instructors for such programs. “There are so many establishments that need quality teachers. The IITs themselves, NITs, IIITs, others,” said Karandikar. Electrical engineering and computer science are the most common majors, but there are also opportunities in areas such as mechanics, materials science, and chemical engineering.
“We are also starting an e-Masters, an online program for industry experts,” he said. “It could be an e-Masters in data science or an e-Masters in cybersecurity. There will be four to six online classes, offered by IIT. It will not be an MTech, because the MTech includes a thesis.”
Another change for India is that students are choosing to attend universities in their country instead of going abroad. “Today, 90% of students choose to stay in India because there are many more opportunities here. A large number of them are joining or starting their own startups,” Karandikar said.
