22nd June 2020
More than 900 applicants sought admission to the 2020 HelloAIRIS summer course. This online programme powered by EIT Health and its Partners aims at closing the skills gap regarding the usage of artificial intelligence in healthcare.
HelloAIRIS is a continuation of the successful HelloAI programme that has been developed for the last two years by GE Healthcare, Leitat and KTH in collaboration with EIT Health. The programme was created to introduce participants to basic knowledge of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This year, the programme targets participants from the countries included in the EIT Health Regional Innovation Scheme, one of the flagship programmes to close the gap between more advanced regions and the ones that are moderate in the field of innovations. The main aim of this course is to engage talents from Central, Eastern or Southern European regions and build a community of AI-ninjas equipped with future-needed skills and marketable EIT Health certificate.
“I am pleased that the number of talents applying to HelloAIRIS was so impressive. We have selected over 480 applicants for this edition, with diverse medical, engineering and economics background who all can find interesting topics of AI in their field during the training. I was also delighted to see the engagement of the participants during the first live session: they’ve actively participated, the lecturers received highly relevant questions which they addressed as time allowed. Due to the high number of applicants we seriously consider to launch a second round even this year to accommodate further requests” – said Peter Bencsik, leader of the HelloAIRIS programme on behalf of GE Healthcare.
Artificial Intelligence is one of the top tier topics on the radar of EIT Health. This year, EIT Health and McKinsey & Company have published a Europe-wide report, “Transforming healthcare with AI: The impact on the workforce and organisations” , which explores the impact of AI on healthcare practitioners as well as the implications and obstacles for scaling AI in healthcare organisations and systems.
What’s next?
The first live session took place on June 15. The students will attend further three e-learning modules and three live sessions with mentoring opportunities of highly qualified experts from GE Healthcare, KTH and LEITAT. The programme ends on August 10 with a closing ceremony.
“This report, but also our experiences while working with start-ups in emerging regions, shows that there is a huge need for upskilling professionals and improving digital health literacy. The summer online course that we developed with the essential engagement of our Partners is another proof that AI is a skill of the future. The demand for this course was higher than expected”, said Monika Toth, EIT Health InnoStars RIS Programme Manager.
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