Students learning about Artificial Intelligence in a Master's programme at the University of Auckland during a 'hackathon'. Photo: Supplied
The head of a university course offering a masters degree in Artificial Intelligence says student numbers have more than tripled since it began last year.
Dr Thomas Lacombe, the director of Auckland University's Master of Artificial Intelligence programme, said about 30 students took part in 2024 and this year's cohort was around 100.
Most came from a science background, but there were students from other disciplines, and around 10 to 15 were professional people.
"[They] are currently working, some of them full-time, and taking the programme to upskill in AI as part of their career."
Most New Zealand universities now offered AI-related degrees and courses.
Auckland's Masters programme included technical learning, ethics, academic research, and applying AI within business.
Lacombe said it was "tricky" to guess where students would end up working.
"A lot of the jobs are being created right now, or they are evolving. Most of the students from the first course are only graduating now," he said.
"But it can lead to jobs around AI machine learning engineering. It can be students working for companies who are developing new AI tools or new AI algorithms.
"A lot of students could go into jobs where they are applying AI in a specific domain, to solve problems. I think this will have the most impact in industry."
Other students would follow an academic pathway, he added.
"So, researching AI, perhaps by doing a PhD."
Earlier this month, the students took part in a "weekend hackathon" collaborating in small groups to design and develop AI tools to address "real-world challenges" facing researchers and universities.
One included helping researchers apply for grants by helping them fill out forms more efficiently, and more effectively, giving them a better chance of being selected.
Nick Kearns, of the university's Research and Innovation Office, said the university would look at supporting the students to develop the tools.
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