Machine learning programme draws huge response

Qatar Centre of Artificial Intelligence (QCAI) an initiative of Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI), part of Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), in collaboration with BigML, a leading machine learning company, started the first-ever Machine Learning School in Doha on Sunday.

“This is the first programme by BigML not only in Qatar but in the entire region, as far as we know. We have tremendous response for the programme. Participants from over 12 countries are taking part in the inaugural school,” QCAI research director, Dr Sanjay Chawla told Gulf Times.

“BigML is taking a leadership role in promoting machine learning through their education programmes all around the world, both in academia and organisations. Right from the day, we had advertised the event, there was a huge response and within a week the whole course was full. We had witnessed heavy interest in the programme as people from very distant countries such as Finland have flown in to participate in the programme,” explained Dr Chawla.

According to Dr Chawla, BigML is a pioneer in offering services that make machine learning easy for the masses. “We might think of making the event an annual feature, considering the interest invoked by the first Machine Learning School. One of the aims of QCAI is to encourage local stakeholders to use Artificial Intelligence solutions built in Qatar. To make this happen, we have make sure that people in Qatar learn about machine learning,” noted the official.

“Machine learning is a transformational technology as it has never seen before. It helps enhance and automate decision making. Now, we see machine learning moving into the industry in a big way. We see many high profile companies make use of machine learning to optimise their businesses. This is making a big impact in various areas and increasingly used by most companies,” said BigML CEO, Francisco Martin.

The school provides a two-day crash course ideal for industry practitioners, developers, graduate students as well as advanced undergraduates seeking a quick, hands-on introduction to machine learning to solve real-world problems. It also serves as an introduction to the kind of work that students can expect if they were to enrol in an advanced machine learning masters.

The course covers the main machine learning techniques of classification, regression, time series, clusters, anomaly detection, association discovery, and topic models. Attendees will also be able to put in practice all the concepts learned with practical workshops and use cases.