New certificate in machine learning offered online

Pacific's Machine Learning Certificate Program, which begins Feb. 17, is intended for those who wish to enhance their careers by learning the core principles and techniques for developing machine learning solutions to data-oriented problems. Deadline to apply is Feb. 14.

"Machine learning is a branch of artificial intelligence. Specifically, machine learning comes in two broad flavors," said Rick Hutley, Data Science Program director and professor of practice.. "One, where huge quantities of data can be processed to determine trends and insights hidden within the data; and a second approach where the computer is fed a series of training data (for example, the hand-written digits from 0 to 9) so that it can 'learn' how to recognize future data."

The skills learned will help firms stay ahead of the competition.

"Companies in every industry are eager to top into the potential of big data and data analytics, and in particular the use of machine learning to develop things like pattern recognition systems or predictive models," Hutley said. 

Firms are definitely looking for employees with these advanced skills. Data scientist roles have grown over 650 percent since 2012 and job growth in the next decade is expected to outpace growth during the previous decade, creating 11.5 million new jobs by 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"This is an ideal program for those who have a background in data science and want to expand professional opportunities by learning the core principles and techniques for developing machine learning solutions to data-oriented problems," Hutley said.

During this 10-week course, participants will enhance their understanding of the theory and methods that allow machine learning to uncover patterns, recognize relationships and create models that can learn from large data sets. In addition to a solid grounding in the theoretical foundation of machine learning, participants will go on to learn how to build practical machine learning applications, including neural networks, using R programming.
Along the way, participants will learn:

• The statistical foundations and essential programming skills to design and develop Machine Learning solutions.
• Supervised and unsupervised learning methods, and how to apply them.
• Key techniques of classification, regression and clustering.
• How to design and develop predictive models.
• Practical case studies of Machine Learning in business and scientific environments.
• Main neural network topologies.
• How to build a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN).

Students will not only learn the mathematical and programming skills necessary for a career in machine learning, but also practical hands-on experience in some of the latest tools used in industry today, including R and Python programming languages, RStudio development environment and Jupyter Notebook. 

The deadline to apply is Feb. 14. For more information visit the Certificate in Machine Learning webpage.