image: Aston University offers scholarships worth £90K to encourage more graduates to work in artificial intelligence view more
Credit: Aston University
• Nine scholarships worth £10k each for MSc Applied AI
• For graduates without a science, tech, engineering or maths degree
• Aims to encourage more people from underrepresented backgrounds to work in tech.
Aston University is opening up the world of artificial intelligence (AI) to graduates who don’t have a background in science, technology engineering or maths.
Nine scholarships for the MSc Applied AI are being offered to graduates who want to work within the expanding AI sector but don’t have a relevant qualification. This course will provide specialist AI knowledge without the need for a computer science background.
Previously Aston University offered four of these scholarships but this year will be able to offer an extra five due to increased funding from the Office for Students (OfS).
Each award is worth £10,000 and will be offered to students enrolling on the course in September 2023.
The scholarships aim to encourage more women, black students, disabled students and students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds into UK technology sector who are currently underrepresented in the AI and data science profession.
Professor Damien Foster, head of the School of Informatics and Digital Engineering, said: “These scholarships offer a great opportunity to enter the profession from non-standard routes.
“It is important to bring together a diversity of skills experiences for the development of this key technology. AI is having a bigger impact on our lives every day.”
The UK currently has a shortage of digital skills estimated at costing the UK economy as much as £63 billion a year in potential GDP. The government is also encouraging employers to take part in the programme and to co-fund scholarships.
In the budget the Chancellor pledged almost £3.5 billion to support the government’s ambitions to make the UK a scientific and technologic superpower.
For details of eligibility and how to apply for the scholarships contact dsaipg@aston.ac.uk