Singapore, 24 January 2018 – The Singapore Management University’s School of Information Systems (SIS) has launched a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) track under its Master of IT in Business (MITB) programme. Geared towards nurturing graduates who are ready for the revolutionary change from AI in data science, the AI track equips a new generation of IT business leaders in careers that bridge AI with business.

The new MITB Artificial Intelligence Track

First-of-its-kind in Singapore and Southeast Asia, the newly created MITB Artificial Intelligence Track provides an integrated approach of melding AI methodologies into business domains. Applications open from 1^st January to 31^st May 2018 for the new curriculum that will commence for the August 2018 student intake.

In recent years, businesses and governments have increasingly embraced artificial intelligence capabilities to address major challenges affecting society and industry. Artificial intelligence and automated analytics have been reshaping business models and strategies. The new AI Track is a direct response to these growing trends, and to the burgeoning demand for professionals who have the ability to apply AI technologies to sophisticated business problems and to create solutions that address technology and business needs.

Associate Professor of Information Systems Michelle Cheong, Associate Dean of SMU SIS Postgraduate Professional Education said, “Revolutionary strides in technology have propelled the world into an era of autonomous analytics. In line with such developments and SMU’s transformative education approach, we created the AI track to cultivate the next generation of talent, who will be as equally adept at people management, as they are with building tools for technical applications and applying algorithms. The new AI track prepares IT and engineering professionals to push the frontiers of the growing sphere of data science for business growth, thus elevating their career prospects.”

The curriculum prepares students in both machine learning and intelligent decision analytics. Machine learning includes two courses in deep learning, one for computer vision and the other for natural language processing. Intelligent decision analytics cover algorithm design and implementation, as well as AI planning and automation.

MITB is well recognised as a programme that trains students to analyse data with a deep understanding of business problems, and to integrate solutions into business processes. In addition to this, the practice of “Learn to Learn” is woven into the course content, where students are required to be quick in picking up new technologies, discover problems and ask the right questions. The emphasis is on building AI applications and tools, beyond using existing data analytics tools for analysis.

Besides technical skills, exciting collaborations, research internships and capstone projects with multi-national corporations, consultancies, government agencies, SMU research centres will provide students with exposure to innovative translation projects in AI. Students will further benefit from opportunities to meet with industry experts for their valuable perspectives, as well as gain access to SMU professors’ and other researchers’ insights on their current and past translational AI projects, where cutting-edge researches are applied in the real world.

The MITB programme was first started in 2007 with a specialisation track in Financial Services Technology & Operations. The Analytics track launched in January 2011 was the first-of-its-kind in Asia. Effective August 2018, the MITB programme will be offering three specialisation tracks: Artificial Intelligence, Analytics, and Financial Technology & Analytics. Students taking the newly revamped Financial Technology & Analytics track will be trained in blockchain, crypto-currencies, smart contracts, big data and DevOps, which refers to the practice of unifying software development and software operation in the financial services domain. The Analytics track remains a leading programme in analytics training due to its wide and deep coverage in different topics, ranging from customer to operations, text analytics to big data, and solving problems from a myriad of business domains. (Please refer to Annex A for the list of modules in each specialisation track).

SIS constantly reviews the MITB programme in response to new technologies and market demands so as to remain highly relevant to industry. MITB graduates are highly sought after by organisations across industries. Students who completed the programme have seen significant career advancement upon graduation.

SMU’s School of Information Systems (SIS) is a leader in practice, research and education in the areas of financial technology and analytics. Its unique blend ensures the quality of SMU’s curriculum, research output and teaching in these two areas.

For more information on SMU MITB, visit https://sis.smu.edu.sg/master-it-business

Featured photo: Singapore Management University