Artificial Intelligence KU Leuven

Overview

The Master of Artificial Intelligence programme at KU Leuven explores and builds on the fascinating challenges of cognitive processes and models, natural language and perception. For many years, it has provided an internationally acclaimed advanced study programme in artificial intelligence. The multidisciplinary programme trains students from a variety of backgrounds - including engineering, sciences, economics, management, psychology, and linguistics - in all areas of knowledge-based technology, cognitive science, and their applications. The one-year programme, taught entirely in English, is the result of a collaboration between many internationally prominent research units from seven different faculties of the university. It allows you to focus on engineering and computer science, cognitive science, or speech and language technology.

The option Big Data Analytics is intended for graduates in Computer Science and trains them to become specialists in the analysis of Big Data. It instructs the students in Statistics, Machine Learning, Data Mining and Advanced programming techniques for dealing with Big Data. It offers a range of application domains in Information Retrieval, Bio-Informatics, Computer Vision and others.

The understanding of the principles of intelligence, the development of artificial intelligence and its many applications in different areas requires a multi-disciplinary approach. The Master of Artificial Intelligence programme is internationally and interdisciplinary oriented. It aims at educating students from a wide variety of different backgrounds. A basic introductory part of the programme consists of fundamentals of artificial intelligence and a broadening course that the student selects from either cognitive science, philosophy of mind and artificial intelligence or privacy and big data. Specific for the option big data analytics, it also contains the course data and statistical modeling. Within the programme students have the choice between three options:

• Engineering and computer science option (ECS): The ECS option is intended for students with a background in the area of engineering or exact sciences. After an introduction to the basic AI concepts, tools and application areas topics of focus include advanced programming languages, knowledge based systems, artificial neural networks and deep learning, robotics, computer vision, machine learning, datamining, support vector machines, bioinformatics, genetic algorithms and evolutionary computation, multi-agent systems, and others. 
• Speech and language technology option (SLT): The central focus of the SLT option is the processing of natural language, both in its written and spoken form. The programme offers a solid linguistic basis, covering the fields of syntax, semantics, morphology, phonetics and lexicography, and continues with advanced courses in natural language processing, speech recognition, speech synthesis and language engineering. 
• Big Data Analytics option (BDA): The BDA option trains students in state of the art data analysis techniques, programming techniques and applications that deal with very large data collections. The option is oriented towards graduates of Computer Science programs. It instructs students on the central concepts of statistical data analysis, machine learning and data mining. It trains students to program learning and data mining techniques that need to cope with big data collections. It conducts deeper studies into an number of applications regarding big data and advanced analysis techniques.

Career perspectives

With an Artificial Intelligence programme from KU Leuven, you will be welcomed in companies in the areas of information technology, data-mining, speech and language technology, intelligent systems, diagnosis and quality control, fraud detection, biometric systems. You can also work in the banking area, or give support in the areas of process industry, biomedicine and bioinformatics, robotics, traffic systems. Furthermore this degree offers opportunities to start a PhD programme.