This image was created with the AI Midjourney by the appliedAI Institute for Europe.

AI Career Kickstart Program: Information for students

Why is the program interesting for me as a student?

In the first semesters you had a lot of theory, but few practical use cases? This AI Career Kickstart Program will change that and you will gain valuable insights into the development of professional ML systems in companies. With this program, we want to make it easier for you to enter the industry.

Our goal is to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the complexities of developing ML systems and to give you the necessary skills to actively contribute to the development of such systems - always considering the principles of modern software engineering and MLOps.

In addition, we want to provide you with a network of your fellow students and experts in the industry.

To be eligible for the programme, students have to fulfil following requirements:

General Requirements
  • Enrollment at a German University: We expect you to be enrolled at university for the whole duration of the program i.e. at least SS 2024. Ideally you will be graduating sometime in 2025.
  • Conversational English: As the official language of the program, all content, communication with the team and live events will be held in English.
  • Time Commitment: The program will run in parallel to your studies.
  • By applying you're ensuring that you have the time commitment to participate in the live events and to solve the tasks of each phase with your team.
    • Live events will happen: on the 10-11th November 2023 on-site Kick-off in Heilbronn
    • For the duration of the program (16th November 2023 - 18th April 2024) there will be online Guest talks every Thursday from 5-6pm and online Workshops on some Tuesdays from 2-5pm
This image was created with the AI Midjourney by the appliedAI Institute for Europe.

What can I expect from the AI Career Kickstart Program?

You start the AI Career Kickstart Program together with 10 to 15 of like-minded people.

To get to know each other, we will meet together in one place at the beginning of the program.

You will work together for six months during your studies on what makes professional ML systems stand out.

We've designed AI Career Kickstart Program so that it doesn't feel like a degree program; rather, we want you to fill in the real-world AI gaps that will become relevant to you in the first year of your career.

You'll put in about 10 hours per week to do this, before starting an internship after six months by applying what you've learned.

During the training program, we will mostly meet online.

How is the AI Career Kickstart Program structured?

AI Career Kickstart Program has five phases:

  • Kick-Off: At the beginning, we will meet at a location and explain in detail how the program is structured.
  • Behind the AI Curtain: Interviews with AI Experts: In this two-month phase, you will interview AI experts in small groups and reflect with the cohort on what aspects are critical in developing professional AI systems.
  • Development and Implementation of Trustworthy ML Systems: In this 4-month phase, you will work in a small group to develop a prototype of a professional ML system that meets the requirements of MLOps and Trustworthy AI.
  • Your Career in AI: In this one-month phase, you will reflect together with your cohort and experts on your first career paths in AI.
  • Internship: In this phase, you will complete a 3-month or 6-month internship at one of the participating companies and periodically reflect on your experience with your cohort.

Note that you have to login to your google account to fill in the form.