Machine Learning in Business
ONLINE SHORT COURSE
Take a strategic approach to implementing machine learning in your business, and explore the impact and value of this transformative technology.
6 weeks, excluding 1 week orientation.
6–8 hours of self-paced learning per week, entirely online.
Email: mitsloan@getsmarter.com
Call: +1 617 997 4979
ABOUT THIS COURSE
How will machine learning affect your business? And how can your company capitalize on this dynamic technology? This Machine Learning in Business online short course from the MIT Sloan School of Management and the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) will help you answer these questions.
Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, is the science of programming computers to improve their performance by learning from data. Dramatic progress has been made in the last decade, driving machine learning into the spotlight of conversations surrounding disruptive technology. This online executive program aims to demystify machine learning for the business professional — offering a firm, foundational understanding of the advantages, limitations, and scope of machine learning from a management perspective.
In the program, MIT faculty will guide you to understand the current and future capabilities of this transformative technology to effectively unlock its potential within your business. You’ll also have the opportunity to design a road map for the successful integration of machine learning — tailored for your organization. At the end of the program, you’ll walk away with a plan for immediate and practical business action.
WHAT THIS PROGRAM COVERS
This program views the technical elements of machine learning through the lens of business and management. It equips you with the relevant knowledge to discover opportunities to drive innovation and efficiency in your organization. Although you can expect to explore technical aspects of machine learning, the focus is on empowering you, as a business leader, to ask the right questions about whether machine learning applications will benefit a particular business problem or make your organization more efficient.
Through a mix of research insights reinforced by case studies, you’ll have the opportunity to apply your learning critically. You’ll learn to identify the realistic opportunities of this transformative technology as you develop an implementation plan for machine learning in a business of your choice. Whether you work in a strategic, operational, or managerial function, you’ll be equipped with an understanding of how machine learning can impact your organization’s business objectives, as well as knowledge of the key aspects of related implementation strategies. Over six weeks, you’ll learn how to successfully lead teams tasked with executing technical machine learning projects and strategically leverage machine learning for a powerful competitive edge in business.
A POWERFUL COLLABORATION
MIT Sloan and MIT CSAIL are collaborating with online education provider GetSmarter to create a new class of learning experience – one that is higher-touch, intimate, and personalized for the working professional.
ABOUT MIT SLOAN
The MIT Sloan School of Management is one of the world’s leading business schools, emphasizing innovation in practice and research, with a mission to develop principled, innovative leaders who improve the world, and to generate ideas that advance management practice. The school’s focus on action learning means that students are able to apply concepts learned in the classroom to real-world business settings. Through its collaborative spirit, MIT Sloan welcomes and celebrates diverse viewpoints, creating an environment where new ideas grow and thrive.
ABOUT MIT SLOAN EXECUTIVE EDUCATION
MIT Sloan Executive Education offers non-degree executive programs led by MIT Sloan faculty to provide business professionals from around the world with a targeted and flexible means to advance their career development goals and position their organizations for future growth. By collaborating with GetSmarter, a leader in online education, MIT Sloan Executive Education is able to broaden access to its on-campus offerings in a collaborative and engaging format that stays true to the quality of MIT Sloan and MIT as a whole.
ABOUT MIT CSAIL
The MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) is the largest research laboratory at MIT and one of the world’s most important centers of information technology research, with an AI Lab founded in 1959. MIT CSAIL believes that computation is the key to creating a successful future. Members focus on the future of computing, on making computers more capable, and developing the science and capabilities of computing through advances in all aspects of computer science, including the theory of computation, systems research, and artificial intelligence.
ABOUT GETSMARTER
GetSmarter, a 2U, Inc. brand, collaborates with the world's leading universities and institutions to select, design, and deliver premium online short courses with a data-driven focus on learning gain.
Technology meets academic rigor in GetSmarter’s people-mediated model, which enables lifelong learners across the globe to obtain industry-relevant skills that are recognized by the world’s most reputable academic institutions.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
You’ll be welcomed to the program and begin connecting with fellow participants, while exploring the navigation and tools of your Online Campus. Be alerted to key milestones in the learning path, and review how your results will be calculated and distributed.
You’ll be required to complete your participant profile and submit a digital copy of your passport/identity document.
Please note that module titles and their contents are subject to change during program development.
Learn about machine learning and its growing role in business.
- Recognize how machine learning forms part of AI in general
- Discuss examples in which machine learning has affected and driven business
- Review the characteristics of, and differences between, the types of machine learning
- Identify the various technologies and approaches employed by machine learning
- Articulate an intuitive understanding of opportunities for machine learning in business
- Determine the relative strengths of machine learning and human intelligence in business
Learn about where machine learning is useful, the role of data, and the importance of an implementation plan.
- Demonstrate an intuitive understanding of when machine learning is useful
- Determine the appropriate types of machine learning for different business functions and processes
- Articulate the differences between machine learning models
- Relate data to machine learning applications to indicate its value
- Investigate the importance of a machine learning implementation plan
- Analyze the essential aspects of a well-constructed machine learning implementation plan
Explore the requirements for the application of machine learning using sensor data.
- Discuss the key features of machine learning that uses sensor data
- Discuss the application of machine learning that uses sensor data in business
- Indicate the technical considerations associated with machine learning that uses sensor data
- Identify the data needs associated with machine learning that uses sensor data
- Determine the objective of implementing sensor data machine learning
- Categorize the data considerations associated with implementing machine learning that uses sensor data
- Assess the business implications associated with implementing machine learning that uses sensor data
Explore the requirements for the application of machine learning using language data.
- Review the key features of machine learning that uses written language data
- Discuss the technical and business considerations associated with machine learning that uses written language data
- Outline the key features of machine learning applied to spoken language data
- Identify the technical and business considerations associated with machine learning applied to spoken language data
- Show how business can utilize machine learning for multimodal language data
- Evaluate the requirements and responsibilities for implementing machine learning that uses language processing in business
Explore the requirements for the application of machine learning using transaction data.
- Describe the key features of transaction data in the finance industry
- Discuss the business implications of machine learning that uses transaction data in the finance industry
- Review case examples to discover information about the features of machine learning when it is used with medical transaction data
- Identify the business implications of machine learning when it is used with transaction data in the medical industry
- Articulate how machine learning that is used on transaction data can be applied in business
- Investigate the need for ongoing validation and retraining of a machine learning model that is used on transaction data
- Assess the business value in implementing machine learning that uses transaction data
Develop an implementation plan for machine learning, and consider the future of machine learning in business.
- Articulate the ethical considerations of machine learning
- Analyze the technical processes that result in machine learning bias
- Investigate ways in which machine learning bias can be identified and avoided, or mitigated
- Debate the future of machine learning and related technologies
- Evaluate the changes to jobs that can result from incorporating machine learning in business
- Reflect on the future impact of machine learning in business contexts
- Formulate a sound implementation plan for machine learning in a business
WHO SHOULD TAKE THIS COURSE
This online program is for business leaders, mid to senior managers, data specialists, consultants, and business professionals interested in exploring the strategic implications of integrating machine learning into an organization.
Whether you’re interested in upskilling or seeking an understanding of transformative technologies in the business environment, this program will help you identify business areas that could benefit from the strategic application of machine learning. If you've been tasked with managing a team or project with roots in machine learning, or you're interested in using knowledge of technical innovation to find a competitive edge in the market, the skills you'll develop will help you realize your potential.
THIS PROGRAM IS FOR YOU IF YOU WANT TO:
EXPAND YOUR PERSPECTIVE
Gain a practical grounding in machine learning and its managerial implications. No prior coding or programming knowledge is required.
IMPROVE YOUR PROJECTS
Create strategic action plans to integrate machine learning into your organization and leverage it for business success.
ADVANCE YOUR CAREER
Get recognized for your new-found knowledge of machine learning in business with a digital certificate of completion from MIT Sloan.
ABOUT THE CERTIFICATE
This program offers you the opportunity to earn a digital certificate of completion from one of the world’s leading business schools — the MIT Sloan School of Management. This program also counts toward an MIT Sloan Executive Certificate, which you can earn upon completion of four programs where at least three of the four come from your chosen certificate track and at least one is completed in person. Find full details here.
Completion is based on a series of practical online assignments. In order to be issued with a digital certificate you’ll need to meet the requirements outlined in the course handbook. The handbook will be made available to you as soon as you begin the program.
Your certificate will be issued in your legal name and sent to you digitally upon successful completion of the program, as per the stipulated requirements.
WHO YOU’LL LEARN FROM
These subject matter experts from MIT Sloan and MIT CSAIL guide the course design and appear in a number of program videos, along with a variety of industry professionals.
YOUR FACULTY DIRECTORS
Thomas Malone
Patrick J. McGovern (1959) Professor of Management and Founding Director, MIT Center for Collective Intelligence
Daniela Rus
Director, MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
INDUSTRY EXPERTS
Catherine Tucker
Sloan Distinguished Professor of Management, MIT Sloan
Erik Brynjolfsson
Professor, MIT Sloan; Director, MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy
Antonio Torralba
Professor, MIT CSAIL
Jim Glass
Senior Research Scientist, MIT CSAIL
Andrew Lo
Director of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering, MIT Sloan
Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland
Founding Faculty Director, MIT Connection Science
Sinan Aral
David Austin Professor of Management, MIT Sloan
Joshua Tenenbaum
Paul E. Newton Career Development Professor of Cognitive Science and Computation, MIT CSAIL
Jeanne W. Ross
Principal Research Scientist, MIT Sloan
Stefanie Jegelka
Assistant Professor, MIT CSAIL
HOW YOU’LL LEARN
Every course is broken down into manageable, weekly modules, designed to accelerate your learning process through diverse learning activities:
- Work through your downloadable and online instructional material
- Interact with your peers and learning facilitators through weekly class-wide forums and reviewed small group discussions
- Enjoy a wide range of interactive content, including video lectures, infographics, live polls, and more
- Investigate rich, real-world case studies
- Apply what you learn each week to quizzes and ongoing project submissions, culminating in an implementation plan for introducing machine learning in your organization
YOUR SUCCESS TEAM
GetSmarter, with whom MIT Sloan and MIT CSAIL are collaborating to deliver this online program, provides a personalized approach to online education that ensures you’re supported throughout your learning journey.
HEAD LEARNING FACILITATOR
A subject expert from GetSmarter, approved by the university, will guide you through learning-related challenges.
SUCCESS ADVISER
Your one-on-one support at GetSmarter, available during university hours (9a.m.–5p.m. EST) to address technical or administrative questions.
GLOBAL SUCCESS TEAM
This team from GetSmarter is available 24/7 to solve your tech-related queries and concerns.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
BASIC REQUIREMENTS
In order to complete this program, you’ll need a current email account and access to a computer and the internet, as well as a PDF Reader. You may need to view Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, and read and create documents in Microsoft Word or Excel.
BROWSER REQUIREMENTS
We recommend that you use Google Chrome as your internet browser when accessing the Online Campus. Although this is not a requirement, we have found that this browser performs best for ease of access to program material. This browser can be downloaded here.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Certain programs may require additional software and resources. These additional software and resource requirements will be communicated to you upon registration and/or at the beginning of the program. Please note that Google, Vimeo, and YouTube may be used in our program delivery, and if these services are blocked in your jurisdiction, you may have difficulty in accessing program content. Please check with an Enrollment Adviser before registering for this program if you have any concerns about this affecting your experience with the Online Campus.
