Capstone Project – How to Be a Successful Entrepreneur: Maria Brilaki

Becoming a successful entrepreneur is the dream for many aspiring inventors and creators. Maria Brilaki achieved that dream, thanks to the ability to remotely study for and achieve an MSc in Responsible Artificial Intelligence from the Open Institute of Technology (OPIT).

She recently spoke to BlueSky Thinking about her experience studying with OPIT and her resulting MedTech development. Her insights could help other budding entrepreneurs find the right educational pathway to success.

Quick Summary

• Maria Brilaki is a successful entrepreneur and MedTech developer.
• Learning with OPIT gave her the ability to utilize AI to create a medical device inspired by her diabetic daughter.
• OPIT’s remote courses meant she could learn and work simultaneously.
• The rigorous curriculum allowed her to develop her AI skills to the point where she could develop hardware.
• Maria now hopes to make the personalized MedTech device she has created commercially available.

Meet Maria Brilaki: MedTech Entrepreneur

Maria Brilaki has had a fascinating career, first training as a civil and environmental engineer, then launching an e-learning health platform: Fitness Reloaded. She’s also written a best-selling health book and was Senior Product Manager at Fiery, a digital front-end (DFE) server and workflow solutions provider.

While working at Fiery, Maria was the lead on many AI-powered products. However, she wanted to take things further. She wanted to get to the point where she could create with AI. That required some additional training and education. For this, she went to OPIT. OPIT’s MSc in Responsible Artificial Intelligence gave her the skills she needed to create a wearable, non-invasive device for measuring blood sugar levels.

She now hopes to launch this product as a solution to painful needles and other invasive treatments and monitoring associated with diabetes.

How Maria’s Invention Works

The device brings together Maria’s passions for engineering, AI, and wellness. However, the inspiration came directly from her daughter. A few years back, Maria’s daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Since then, she’s had to endure painful injections and pin-prick blood tests, plus the skin irritation associated with current continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology. Maria noted that many current CGM devices offer delayed readings that can pose a health risk.

Maria’s solution is based on optics and how light interacts with different compounds in the skin. The device is wearable and uses near-infrared (NIR) monitoring to assess glucose levels. There are no needles or under-skin sensors, removing the pain and irritation associated with CGM.

The creation of this advanced MedTech device occurred as part of Maria’s OPIT MSc course. The course culminates in a Capstone Project and Dissertation. Students get the chance to work on a real-life project or piece of research with industrial relevance. Students can also pursue internships with relevant organizations to complement their project work.

Maria chose to solve the problem of painful CGM. Her work included the development of the device, plus a careful study of 25 participants to understand the impact of the device.

Challenges on the Road to Success

As with any new technology, there were a few bumps in the road to success. Maria noted that the physics of the problem were very challenging. Everyone’s skin compounds are unique, making the creation of patterns for monitoring tricky. She circumvented this problem by calibrating the device to the individual.

Maria also observed that being a female entrepreneur has its own challenges. Very few women-founded startups receive the same level of funding compared to their male-run counterparts. However, she said that having a working prototype, thanks to her OPIT studies, has changed conversations. In Maria’s words, “Hardware backed by data commands attention.”

What’s Next for Maria?

Maria’s ultimate goal is to remove the need for needles in blood sugar monitoring. If her device becomes widely adopted, it could take the pain out of diabetic monitoring and treatment, improving the quality of life for patients all over the world.

Without the opportunity to learn remotely with OPIT, she would never have had the chance to apply machine learning on a person-by-person basis or create a piece of AI-powered hardware from scratch. She’s now working on commercializing the prototype and gaining FDA approval for her device.

Key Takeaways

• Entrepreneurs are more likely to achieve success with a working prototype of their product or service.
• Remote education in tech-specific subjects can empower entrepreneurs to do more.
• OPIT offers flexible, remote education for professionals and entrepreneurs wanting to expand their skillset.

Discover Your Own Pathway to Successful Entrepreneurship

Maria’s advice to other budding entrepreneurs is, “…focus on solving meaningful problems. The bigger the problem, the more it is worth putting your attention to. Don’t be afraid by the size of it; instead, focus on what it would mean if you were to solve it.”

You can discover the program that led to Maria’s success at OPIT. The MSc in Responsible Artificial Intelligence is a 1.5 to two-year course that you complete remotely. It’s a fully accredited level 7 course and offers opportunities to create a meaningful project and connect with businesses across multiple industries, just like Maria.

If you want more details on this program, get the brochure and discover how easy it is to get started with OPIT.

FAQ

How can an AI degree help me become a successful entrepreneur?

An MSc in Responsible Artificial Intelligence can give you the skills you need to create something unique and tailored to solving a specific problem. You’ll learn about ethics and AI, programming, data analytics, and natural language processing, which are all skills you can combine to create something purposeful and commercially viable.

Can I earn a Master’s degree in AI online?

Yes, with OPIT, you can complete an MSc in AI in as little as 1.5 years, and the course is entirely remote. The final project may involve an internship with a research lab or company, or you may decide to focus entirely on the Capstone Project and Dissertation without pursuing an internship.

How long does it take to remotely complete an MSc in Artificial Intelligence?

The course may take up to two years to complete and is classed as a full-time course. However, many learners complete the course in as little as 1.5 years and manage to balance their studies with existing commitments and jobs.