This interview was held with a first-year student studying Artificial intelligence at Breda University of Applied Sciences. He is a student from Egypt currently living in Tilburg for the study AI for the upcoming 4 years. He was very enthusiastic about doing this interview and to talk about the new study Artificial Intelligence.

Would you like to introduce yourself?

Hi, my name is Rami, I am a 22-year old- first-year artificial intelligence and data management.

Why did you choose AI?

There are a lot of sectors in AI or IT but I  personally think that AI is the most fresh and interesting sector since it’s very new and a lot of stuff can be improved in the world we live in; with that, I mean that our world is getting more and more technological. Also, AI is very much needed in the labor market. Also, I really liked programming already and AI was the most interesting study in the field.

A lot of people think that AI has a lot of programming in it, but it doesn’t. AI is mostly about data science, programming, machinery, and data analysis.

Why did you choose Breda University of applied sciences? Why did it appeal to you?

Breda University of Applied Sciences has a very good reputation and most of the other schools have AI as a specialization or minor and this school has a whole study for it. So, you will get all the information that you need.

Would you like to explain what AI is?

Artificial intelligence has a lot of definitions. One of them is that it is the field of computer sciences that is associated with the concept of machines thinking like humans, performing tasks like learning, problem-solving, predicting, planning, reasoning, and identifying patterns.

How is the first year going so far? Is it doable?

It’s going pretty well, it’s kind of simple because the teachers are taking it easy and explaining everything in baby steps. There are different people in the study that don’t have the same background and the teachers are making sure that everyone feels welcome. The teachers are also very flexible, for example, if we don’t like a method that is being taught, we can talk to teachers about that, and they investigate it and try to solve it.

What do you want to become in the future with AI?

I wanted to become a data analyzer but after taking the course of machine learning and python I am still confused about data science, data analyzing, and machine learning development. Until the second year, I have time to choose a path. The study takes 3 years and 1-year internship, so 4 years in total.

Does it feel like it’s the first time an AI course is ever given? 

In a good way yes, because we are still figuring out what the best way is of learning is, also as a teacher. So, everyone is doing their best to make everyone feel comfortable in the environment they are in.

What do you think of the teachers?

For many of our teachers, it is the first time to teach, but they have a very good background. I am always very interested in knowing what they studied before and a few of them told us that they had done very interesting studies or work before becoming a teacher.

Do you think this study is going to get more popular in the upcoming years?

Absolutely! I see the impact of AI on the working/labor market, and even on social media.  Everywhere they are searching for data scientists and machine learning specialists, and that means that this study will appeal to many people. I think this is the future of human life.

How many people are studying AI at this moment?

18 people, it was supposed to be more but because of the corona circumstances, a lot of international students couldn’t make it.

What is the ratio of girls and boys?

We have 3 girls and 15 boys, I think in the future we are going to have more girls than we do now, since our class representative talked with the board about it, and they want to achieve that 20% or 30% of the students should be girls.

Do you think this study fits many people?

Yes definitely. You got to be patient with this study though because there are a lot of errors that happen, frustrating moments, and even moments where you want to give up. But you just got to go through and keep up the motivation. Another thing is that you must have a little bit of a background in mathematics.

How happy are you with this study?

I will give an 8,5 out of 10. I am really happy with this study. Everything is so nice, teachers, students, campus, and the safe environment. It is completely not boring and every day I learn new stuff. I can recommend it to anyone who wants a good learning environment.

This interview was very interesting since it was the first one about the study Artificial Intelligence at our school Breda University of applied sciences. Rami talked passionately about the study and about the pros and cons of it, also what people can expect from it. To find out more information about the study Artificial Intelligence go to https://www.buas.nl/en/programmes/applied-data-science-artificial-intelligence