Artificial intelligence masters programmes – an analysis of the building blocks of the curriculum is a 2021 report of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), which aims to identify the key elements of an AI Master’s programme by analysing different programmes already existing in Europe. The report analyses 45 AI-related postgraduate programmes in 13 universities in 11 EU Member States (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden in the EU) and 2 other countries (Switzerland and the United Kingdom). The analysis also considered the AI-related Data Science Core Curriculum as a closely linked and relevant part of informatics and informatics.
The report identifies the main themes and competences in AI-related disciplines and links the main building blocks of the AI programme to the fields of knowledge (fundamental, basic, generic and used). These areas of knowledge are then developed in units and knowledge themes that will guide the analysis. Findings include:
- Machine learning is the most common theme of AI-related master programmes. A significant number of major programmes analysed focus significantly on machine learning topics, although initially classified in another area.
- After machine learning, masters programmes focus on: computer vision, human-computer interaction, knowledge representation and reasoning; natural language processing; planning, search and optimisation; robotics and smart automation.
Another finding noted and analysed in detail in the report is the lack of alignment of technical studies and ICT skills needed to study AI. Read more about the report below.