Artificial Intelligence in Paris

When planning to go to Paris to study Artificial Intelligence (AI) at CentraleSupélec (CS), I was anxious that I would find myself out of my depth. As a business and BCII student, with a basic understanding of the technical application of AI from a finance subject, and having not studied engineering or mathematics. I was concerned that the class would assume knowledge that I did not have, and I would be stuck by myself, in a place I didn’t know, with people I didn’t know. This, luckily, couldn’t have been further from my actual experience.

The small course group of 10 had a mix of disciplines, with two finance students, two mathematics students, and various specialisations of engineering. From this, discussions would develop beyond the bias of a single perspective, and ideas would be generated in a transdisciplinary way, rather than simply multidisciplinary or interdisciplinarity.

Learning about these diverse mindsets and problem-solving approaches, I was able to consider problems through many lenses, and consider problems in novel ways. I also learned about the fundamental structure of different algorithms through a mathematical perspective. Then, considering how this function may be employed through an engineering perspective, through the configuration and modification of the academic insight into a practical and usable tool.

Finally, a business perspective could consider the potential business models to market the newly developed tool. In this way, the variety within the group represented many links of the development chain and allowed for a stronger understanding of the process.

Additionally, the content of the course also exposed the power of transdisciplinary between seemingly dichotomous fields, such as biology and technology. Beyond now having the new knowledge set I gained during the course, I now further understand the perspectives of disciplines I had not explored prior. Seeing the experimental nature towards their problem solving encourages me to prototype my ideas, test new combinations of tools, and learn from failures

Overall the course was an amazing opportunity to meet great people, explore new topics outside of my general course structure, and integrate this learning experience within a broader travel of Europe.

Liam Loughrey
UTS Business School student
Artificial Intelligence in Paris, France
Global Short Programs Travel Scholarship Recipeint