Elements of AI

Elements of AI is an introductory course that was launched in 2018 by Finnish innovation company education company Reaktor and the University of Helsinki, Finland under the framework of the 2019 Finnish Presidency of the European Council.

Objectives of the course

The aim of the course is to demystify Artificial Intelligence (AI) for anyone, and encourage citizens throughout Europe to gain knowledge on the topic - and understand the various ways in which the technology is transforming the world. Elements of AI targets all citizens, including students, employees interested in embarking on a career in the digital sector, older people, jobseekers, and those curious to know more about the impact of AI in Europe and beyond. 

Elements of AI is a free, self-paced course, which saves user progression, allowing learners to complete the course at their own speed. The course is structured in 6 chapters and each chapter is broken down further into 3 separate sections, with information and knowledge provided in bite-sized chunks for additional flexibility. The course teaches participants all they need to know about the field of AI: how is started and evolved, prompting the development of new and related fields, such as machine learning or deep learning and goes through essential rules and approaches to developing AI methods and solutions.

A practical approach

Through practical use cases and self-reflection exercises, combined with a peer-review approach, Elements of AI offers an opportunity to learners to dive deeper into AI specialisations, such as Neural Networks (a large number of simple units, neurons, that receive and transmit signals to each other) and other concepts central to the technology. In addition, learners can also find out more about the different applications of AI in key industry sectors, such as manufacturing and healthcare - and find practical guidance on the types of skills required to work with AI, and the job opportunities and roles the sector is creating.