This text is part of the special Research section
To ensure the continuous training of its employees, Ericsson called on Concordia University and its specialists in artificial intelligence. Results ? An innovative formula, from which everyone is a winner.
Ericsson, the only equipment manufacturer still present in Quebec, takes the continuous training of its employees to heart. But with traditional continuing training, employees sometimes have difficulty integrating this new knowledge into their daily lives, especially since the employees we wanted to train on artificial intelligence (AI) were not specialists. . “We want to raise the skills of all our employees,” explains Paul Baptista, director of ENCQOR 5G, a partnership focused on research and innovation in the 5G disruptive technologies sector, and manager of the Ericsson Montreal site. .
Based on several collaborations with researchers at Concordia University, the company therefore had the idea of offering slightly different training courses on artificial intelligence. “We wanted to develop with Concordia a new training model, where we bring work into the classroom,” says Paul Baptista. The training was co-developed by the Ericsson AI Accelerator and was supported by Scale AI, a cluster that brings industry and academia closer together.
Variety of topics, variety of projects
In this series of 32 practice-oriented courses, around ten Concordia professors support around 100 Ericsson employees on projects related to artificial intelligence. Theoretical courses but especially the practical workshops tackle different themes: big data (big data), programming, machine learning, deep learning, infrastructure.
Training takes place during the work week with the support of professors and around ten graduate students from Concordia. “This is really the best formula for training and applying the knowledge learned almost immediately,” says Baptista.
Such a collaboration required a year of preparation, in particular to put in place a security infrastructure to protect the confidential data of the manufacturer. Indeed, participants work on real data from Ericsson’s 5G network.
The chosen pedagogical approach is organized around milestones. “We try to ensure that all participants have a similar training experience, despite the diversity of the projects,” says Tristan Glatard, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Concordia University and member of the team of trainers.
The project-based approach is also effective in the context of heterogeneous groups of participants, who belong to different trades (network deployment, operators, product developers) and have a varied level of expertise. “The only thing they have in common is that they are employees of Ericsson,” says Baptista. Live from Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, participants have the opportunity to forge links (virtual, for now) during the months of the training.
A “win-win” project
This project will allow Ericsson to train the next generation from within, the company – like many – being struck by the scarcity of skilled workers in the field of artificial intelligence. “This is one of the challenges: as all sectors and industries try to integrate AI, we do not have enough graduates,” notes Mr. Baptista.
For the University, such a partnership offers a great showcase. “This is an opportunity to unite our professors and our students,” remarks Mr. Glatard, who also holds the Research Chair on Big Data Infrastructures for Neuroinformatics. Collaboration makes it possible to avoid working in a vacuum and brings specialists from different faculties to work together on issues rooted in reality. Being confronted with these real issues pushes both professors and students to their limits. “It requires us to update ourselves,” notes the research professor. Technical support students also forge links with whoever could be their future employer.
A formula with a future
This direct access to concrete issues could lead to the development of other research partnerships. “This is an opportunity for researchers to better understand our field, and it allows us to better adapt theoretical models to our problems,” notes Mr. Baptista. The company is also carrying out other research projects in collaboration with Concordia alongside this training project, in artificial intelligence and cloud computing, for example.
The training has already been started, and the first milestone has even been reached, namely the definition of projects “We have determined where we are going to put the AI, what it will be used for, and we have established ambitious but realistic objectives. », Summarizes Mr. Glatard. The training cycle will run until March 10.
This promising educational formula could also be used, wish the two experts. “It’s a model that Concordia is putting in place,” says Baptista.