AI:an essential part of Higher Education
From search engines, to spelling and grammar checkers, to digital assistants, Artificial Intelligence already plays a big part in our day-to-day lives. And it’s going to get bigger.
In fact, it’s hard to imagine a future without AI…
“Young people’s lives will be infused with AI, from their homes and transportation to the workplace. They need to understand this technology so they can think critically about it and consider what career options it might open up for them.”
Business Development Manager, Nvidia
With an estimated 65% of children entering or currently in primary school going on to work in jobs that don’t exist yet, not surprisingly higher education facilities are investing in Artificial Intelligence technology today in order to attract – and help educate – students wanting to improve their opportunities in tomorrow’s AI-focused job market.
There is a wide range of education-oriented AI-assisted applications already available, including language learning programs, lesson planning software, adaptive learning and assistive technology for the hearing or visually impaired.
However, the three key areas where adopting AI technology can showcase your institution's ability to embrace the future and prove to students and faculty that your institution is worth investing in are:
Faster, more efficient research processes will lead to more breakthroughs, whilst leaving educators more time to focus on nurturing students.
Deep learning kits help students prepare for their future and for the upcoming changes in the workplace. This will attract more applications from prospective students, and place forward-thinking universities at the forefront of their industry.
As well as demonstrating that your institution can provide a fulfilling curriculum, being able to enhance campus life will also help to attract more students – vital in an increasingly competitive market.
OCF offers experienced, trusted advice on all aspects of high performance computing systems to the higher education sector and research institutions.
AI enables researchers to process and analyse data in a fraction of the time taken by hardware accelerators, saving time, money and energy. The benefits can be enormous. For example, according to the Council of Europe, the predictions of the virus structure generated by AI saved scientists months of experimentation.
When studying AI and deep learning, students need access to GPUs – an expensive resource. As a result, there may not be the equipment available to match the number of students. Fortunately, Deep Learning Teaching Kits make it possible to address the problem of limited GPU and excess student demand
Artificial Intelligence can be used to create a more secure and efficient ‘Smart’ campus. AI can often work with hardware that’s already available, such as security cameras spread across several facilities. By combining AI with existing technology, it is possible to program facilities to run with some level of autonomy.
In March 2021, scientific research across the North of England saw the arrival of a new £3.8m supercomputer to support projects in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, energy storage and supply, and therapeutic drug design. The HPC system, Bede, is hosted at Durham University and was designed, installed and is maintained by high performance compute, storage, cloud and AI integrator, OCF.
“(Bede) will help our researchers to undertake work that incorporates experimental activities underpinned by large data or modelling situations which are unable to be replicated in standard experiments.” Dr Annette Bramley, director of the N8 Research Partnership
Deep Learning Teaching Kits can address the problem of limited GPUs and excess student demand by fractionalizing the GPU usage and automatically allocating the resources to those needing them. It ensures that each student has an allocated quota they can use, and, as such, other students will no longer need to wait for their peers to finish their work before they can take their turn.
The applications for AI in Smart University Campuses are broad and varied – from using AI powered CCTV to identify large gatherings, to using AI to save energy in buildings.
Please request a free consultancy call with one of our experts to discuss your ambitions.
It is clear that without an AI offering, higher education establishments are missing an important opportunity to provide students, researchers and faculty staff with the means to prepare for a changing world.
But where do you start? Or how do you make even more of the AI technology you have already invested in?
OCF can provide the answers.
For over 20 years, OCF has supported the higher education sector and research institutions with the development of outstanding high-performance computing solutions, including AI, by taking a consultative role between our customers and best-in-class technology vendors.
We have a deep understanding of the needs of educational establishments and a proven track record of delivering a range of vendor AI-based and focused solutions to help drive:
• Better learning outcomes
• More efficient teaching
• Faster breakthroughs in key areas of research
• Reduced costs
• More secure campuses
As an impartial systems integrator, we take individual technologies and combine them to deliver complete HPC, storage, cloud and AI solutions, by offering:
Our best-in-class partner network brings the most appropriate technology together for your challenge.
Our impartial experts adopt a consultative approach to understanding the technical requirements of your challenge, before defining the solution to deliver your vision.
Day to day, we are there to keep your system up-to-date with managed services, enabling your team to get on with doing what they do best.
We believe that the combination of skills and partnerships sets us apart from our competitors, enabling us to support you through the journey to adopting these technologies in your organisation, from concept to full production.
And it all starts with a conversation…