Kansas State University Salina Aerospace and Technology Campus announced it is launching a degree option that is the first of its kind in the state.
With high demand in the industry for skilled workers, the school said it will offer a machine learning and autonomous systems bachelor’s degree. K-State Salina said this program is one of only a few in the United States and the only one in Kansas.
According to K-State, autonomous systems and machine learning involve letting an application learn and improve from data and experience without being programmed to do so. These systems, which can work with minimal to no human contact, include digital assistants like Siri and Alexa, website recommendation systems and self-driving vehicles.
“This new degree option in machine learning and autonomous systems was developed to support advanced industry demands,” said Michael Pritchard, assistant professor in the integrated studies department and chair of the machine learning and autonomous systems program.”
Pritchard said the need for a trained work force in these skills is growing rapidly.
“(At) K-State Salina, we aim to meet this demand,” Pritchard said.
The machine learning and autonomous systems program at K-State Salina teaches students the fundamentals of technology in predicting, planning and sensing the environment to enhance health care, workplace safety, transportation, space exploration and aspects of daily life.
Throughout the program, students will learn skills to create autonomous systems that collaborate with humans through the use of modern programming languages. In addition, the program will equip students with transferrable skills such as systems development, statistics, and data analytics techniques.
“K-State Salina Aerospace and Technology Campus continues to support industry by providing education and the skills needed to be at the forefront of technology,” said Alysia Starkey, CEO and dean at K-State Salina. “This degree allows us to diversify our curriculum to support manned, unmanned and advanced manufacturing needs as we continue to build our global aerospace presence.”
K-State said the program can be completed entirely online or through a hybrid of online and on-campus courses.