On October 12, SCET partnered with Global System for Mobile Communication, or GSMA, on a collaborative workshop on What’s Next for Data, AI for Telecom and 5G in preparation for a spring 2020 SCET course on innovating 5G and artificial intelligence.
The workshop enabled a solid understanding of objectives and collaboration for spring 2020 course “Innovating 5G/AI with GSMA” (190E 001/290 004). Students will learn the problems and opportunities directly from experts in leading telecommunication companies and implement the concepts within the course. Additionally, Ikhlaq Sidhu’s Innovation Engineering framework will be taught and practiced throughout the semester.
“It’s thrilling to collaborate with the telecom industry on a course that integrates UC Berkeley student innovation, enthusiasm and breakthrough thinking with 5G expertise and insights from top global telecom executives. It will truly be a unique experience for students and industry alike,” said Victoria Howell, associate instructor and director, executive programs at SCET.
The course is intended for both undergraduate and graduate students to develop innovative projects starting from initial concept though implementation in areas that include Data/AI and systems.
Projects in the course will be executed using the new Innovation Engineering framework pioneered in Prof. Sidhu’s new book Innovation Engineering. Students will be innovating in the 5G/AI domains with GSMA while simultaneously learning entrepreneurial behaviors, mindsets, and processes to creating new products.
The course is ideal for technical students in data science, CS, engineering, web/mobile applications, and those with varying levels of coding and systems experience. Places will also be held for non-technical majors who would like to focus on user experiences and/or customer experience. The course will benefit students interested in product development, applied research, and product management.
GSMA hosts the Mobile World Congress, and partners with virtually every telecom provider in the world. Telecom executives and technical leaders from major global providers from Turkcell, Telecom Italy, China Unicom, Vodafon and Saudi Telecom attended the event.
With the advent of 5G, its increased bandwidth, lower latency and growing IOT infrastructure, global providers will soon be able to provide a host of new services. The event pondered questions about the future of 5G, specifically regarding how to leverage the bandwidth to create a more sustainable future.
The October workshop featured Laxmi Akkarujo, chief strategy officer at GSMA and Ikhlaq Sidhu, chief scientist and faculty director at SCET sharing their nuanced perspectives on data and AI. Together with participants, the two led exercises to better identify potential applications. The purpose was to help develop a framework for GSMA collaboration on a class. The upcoming course will feature interaction with the executives and will be led by Sidhu and instructor Stephen Pieraldi. The class will include mentorship and participation from select GSMA executive membership so that it truly is industry applicable.
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators with almost 400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces the industry-leading MWC events held annually in Barcelona, Los Angeles and Shanghai, as well as the Mobile 360 Series of regional conferences.