Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and You

MSR faculty co-taught a robotics course to alumni and community members through The Alumnae of Northwestern University.

This fall, faculty members from Northwestern University's Master of Science in Robotics (MSR) program shared their expertise with the larger alumni community and nearby residents thanks to The Alumnae of Northwestern University.

The Alumnae organize a series of quarter-long continuing education courses throughout the year that is targeted at Northwestern alumni as well as local residents. The classes meet once a week, and this quarter, one of the courses offered was "Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and You." Each week of the class was taught by a different faculty member, including 11 from the MSR faculty.

Course topics include, but were not limited to:

  • Robotics at NU: Past, Present & Future
  • How Open Software Shapes Robotics Research and Development
  • Active Learning In Robotics
  • Robot Locomotion in the Wild

Nearly 200 students registered for the class.

With the quarter coming to a close, Alumnae course coordinators Mary Patronik and Charlene Shaw spoke about the class, how it came to be and what the reaction has been from the continuing education students.

How does the Alumnae choose what continuing education courses to offer?

We have a group of course coordinators who use their past experiences putting together classes and new discoveries of interesting topics and speakers to develop our courses. Typically, we plan at least one to two years out for each quarter's offerings. We've just finished developing our schedule for 2019-20 and are beginning to look at topics and presenters for 2020-21. We look for courses that will appeal to the general public based upon requests from our students, matching them with areas of expertise within the university.

From your perspective, what is the goal of continuing education offerings?

We strive to share the University's resources with alumni and the community at large while supporting Northwestern's commitment to excellence in education and research. Our continuing education program is the primary revenue source for our gifts to the university.

Robotics is not necessarily a topic that comes to mind when considering the demographics of students in the Alumnae courses. Was that a factor in deciding to offer this course?

In recent years, our students have expressed great interest in technology-related courses. They enjoy learning about Northwestern's forays into scientific areas touching healthcare, astronomy, neuroscience and many engineering disciplines. This course was a great opportunity to showcase NU's work and educate our students on the latest buzzwords and concepts they hear about in their daily reading and news consumption.

What benefits do you think there are to having multiple faculty members teach a course like this, as opposed to one professor the entire quarter?

While it's much simpler for us to have a single faculty presenter, the biggest benefit of engaging multiple professors is the depth of knowledge each one presents on his/her topic. In some cases, presenters work in the same field but have different approaches or viewpoints.

What has been the overall response to the course from participants?

We have been getting great responses after each class. Occasionally, one or two students will express concerns that a lecture has been too technical. For the same class, one or two other students will state that they wanted the conversation to dive deeper into the topic. Everyone is having their interest piqued in new areas and they often proceed to the websites of the professors after hearing the lectures.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Kevin Lynch was a fundamental driver in putting together this course. Along with Larry Birnbaum, the list of topics and speakers was created and arranged with great care. We'd love to do a follow-on course in a couple of years since the technologies and research are always advancing.

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