The aim of the "AI Career Kickstart Program" is to promote young AI talent in a theoretical and a practice-oriented phase and to build a bridge between the academic world and industry. Students gain practical experience in the field of trustworthy AI and companies benefit from new ideas and solutions.

Practical phase with well-known companies

After completing the training program, the participants of the first year are now moving on to the practical part. They will complete a three- to six-month internship at EnBW, Bosch, Porsche, Porsche Digital, G+D or the appliedAI initiative. At the same time, the application phase for the second round of the program, which starts in October 2024, begins immediately. "The training phase of the first year was a complete success. We are delighted to see that our AI Career Kickstart Program has been able to close practical AI gaps," says Dr. Frauke Goll, Managing Director of the appliedAI Institute for Europe.

ML model, knowledge building and career coaching

As part of the training phase of the programme, a machine learning model (ML model) was created together with the non-profit organization "Aktion Baum" from Hamburg and the Institute for Forest Conservation using modelled satellite data. This allows the leaf density in forests to be predicted. This is closely linked to air quality, biodiversity and the health of the forest. In addition, the focus in this phase was on building up knowledge, developing an ML prototype and AI career coaching.

"Participants in the program have reflected back to us that we can provide them with relevant knowledge for the development of robust AI systems that close the gap with industry standards," explains Dr. Paula González Avalos, Head of AI Academy and program manager. "That was exactly our approach. Our program supports both technical and soft skills."

Transfer of technical and non-technical know-how

Jonas, a Master's student of Computer Science at the TU Munich, confirms this: "The knowledge imparted as part of the AI Career Kickstart Program ranges from non-technical findings such as project and risk management for AI applications to technical aspects such as best practices in software engineering for AI and the application of MLOps principles. In addition, you get the necessary knowledge and support to plan and advance your own career in AI." Valentina, also a Master's student at TU Munich, adds: "The appliedAI Institute program is a great opportunity to broaden your horizons and knowledge, gain an understanding of different roles in the AI industry and get to know different phases of ML project development."