During the Open Institute of Technology’s (OPIT) 2025 graduation day, the OPIT team interviewed graduating student Irene about her experience with the MSc in Applied Data Science and AI. The interview focused on how Irene juggled working full-time with her study commitments and the value of the final Capstone project, which is part of all OPIT’s master’s programs.
Irene, a senior developer at ReActive, said she chose to study at OPIT to update her skills for the current and future job market.
OPIT’s MSc in Applied Data Science and AI
In her interview, Irene said she appreciated how OPIT’s course did not focus purely on the hard mathematics behind technologies such as AI and cloud computing, but also on how these technologies can be applied to real business challenges.
She said she appreciated how the course gave her the skills to explain to stakeholders with limited technical knowledge how technology can be leveraged to solve business problems, but it also equipped her to engage with technical teams using their language and jargon. These skills help graduates bridge the gap between management and technology to drive innovation and transformation.
Irene chose to continue working full-time while studying and appreciated how her course advisor helped her plan her study workload around her work commitments “down to the minute” so that she never missed a deadline or was overcome by excessive stress.
She said she would recommend the program to people at any stage in their career who want to adapt to the current job market. She also praised the international nature of the program, in terms of both the faculty and the cohort, as working beyond borders promises to be another major business trend in the coming years.
Capstone Project
Irene described the most fulfilling part of the program as the final Capstone project, which allowed her to apply what she had learned to a real-life challenge.
The Capstone Project and Dissertation, also called the MSc Thesis, is a significant project aimed at consolidating skills acquired during the program through a long-term research project.
Students, with the help of an OPIT supervisor, develop and realize a project proposal as part of the final term of their master’s journey, investigating methodological and practical aspects in program domains. Internships with industrial partners to deliver the project are encouraged and facilitated by OPIT’s staff.
The Capstone project allows students to demonstrate their mastery of their field and the skills they’ve learned when talking to employers as part of the hiring process.
Capstone Project: AI Meets Art
Irene’s Capstone project, “Call Me VasarAI: An AI-Powered Framework for Artwork Recognition and Storytelling,” focused on using AI to bridge the gap between art and artificial intelligence over time, enhancing meaning through contextualization. She developed an AI-powered platform that allows users to upload a work of art and discover the style (e.g. Expressionism), the name of the artist, and a description of the artwork within an art historical context.
Irene commented on how her supervisor helped her fine-tune her ideas into a stronger project and offered continuous guidance throughout the process with weekly progress updates. After defending her thesis in January, she noted how the examiners did not just assess her work but guided her on what could be next.
Other Example Capstone Projects
Irene’s success is just one example of a completed OPIT Capstone project. Below are further examples of both successful projects and projects currently underway.
Elina delivered her Capstone project on predictive modeling of natural disasters using data science and machine learning techniques to analyze global trends in natural disasters and their relationships with climate change-related and socio-economic factors.
According to Elina: “This hands-on experience has reinforced my theoretical and practical abilities in data science and AI. I appreciate the versatility of these skills, which are valuable across many domains. This project has been challenging yet rewarding, showcasing the real-world impact of my academic learning and the interdisciplinary nature of data science and AI.”
For his Capstone project, Musa worked on finding the optimal pipeline to fine-tune a language learning model (LLM) based on the specific language and model, considering EU laws on technological topics such as GDPR, DSA, DME, and the AI Act, which are translated into several languages.
Musa stated: “This Capstone project topic aligns perfectly with my initial interests when applying to OPIT. I am deeply committed to developing a pipeline in the field of EU law, an area that has not been extensively explored yet.”
Tamas worked with industry partner Solergy on his Capstone project, working with generative AI to supercharge lead generation, boost SEO performance, and deliver data-driven marketing insights in the realm of renewable energy.
OPIT’s Master’s Courses
All of OPIT’s master’s courses include a final Capstone project to be completed over one 13-week term in the 90 ECTS program and over two terms in the 120 ECTS program.
The MSc in Digital Business and Innovation is designed for professionals who want to drive digital innovation in both established companies and new digital-native contexts. It covers digital business foundations and the applications of new technologies in business contexts. It emphasizes the use of AI to drive innovation and covers digital entrepreneurship, digital product management, and growth hacking.
The MSc in Responsible Artificial Intelligence combines technical expertise with a focus on the ethical implications of modern AI. It focuses on real-world applications in areas like natural language processing and industry automation, with a focus on sustainable AI systems and environmental impact.
The MSc in Enterprise Cybersecurity prepares students to fulfill the market need for versatile cybersecurity solutions, emphasizing hands-on experience and soft-skills development.
The MSc in Applied Data Science and AI focuses on the intersection between management and technology. It covers the underlying fundamentals, methodologies and tools needed to solve real-life business problems that can be approached using data science and AI.
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From the same author
Read the articleThe Open Institute of Technology (OPIT) is the perfect place for those looking to master the core skills and gain the fundamental knowledge they need to enter the exciting and dynamic environment of the tech industry. While OPIT’s various degrees and courses unlock the doors to numerous careers, students may not know exactly which line of work they wish to enter, or how, exactly, to take the next steps.
That’s why, as well as providing exceptional online education in fields like Responsible AI, Computer Science, and Digital Business, OPIT also offers an array of career-related services, like the Peer Career Mentoring Program. Designed to provide the expert advice and support students need, this program helps students and alumni gain inspiration and insight to map out their future careers.
Introducing the OPIT Peer Career Mentoring Program
As the name implies, OPIT’s Peer Career Mentoring Program is about connecting students and alumni with experienced peers to provide insights, guidance, and mentorship and support their next steps on both a personal and professional level.
It provides a highly supportive and empowering space in which current and former learners can receive career-related advice and guidance, harnessing the rich and varied experiences of the OPIT community to accelerate growth and development.
Meet the Mentors
Plenty of experienced, expert mentors have already signed up to play their part in the Peer Career Mentoring Program at OPIT. They include managers, analysts, researchers, and more, all ready and eager to share the benefits of their experience and their unique perspectives on the tech industry, careers in tech, and the educational experience at OPIT.
Examples include:
- Marco Lorenzi: Having graduated from the MSc in Applied Data Science and AI program at OPIT, Marco has since progressed to a role as a Prompt Engineer at RWS Group and is passionate about supporting younger learners as they take their first steps into the workforce or seek career evolution.
- Antonio Amendolagine: Antonio graduated from the OPIT MSc in Applied Data Science and AI and currently works as a Product Marketing and CRM Manager with MER MEC SpA, focusing on international B2B businesses. Like other mentors in the program, he enjoys helping students feel more confident about achieving their future aims.
- Asya Mantovani: Asya took the MSc in Responsible AI program at OPIT before taking the next steps in her career as a Software Engineer with Accenture, one of the largest IT companies in the world, and a trusted partner of the institute. With a firm belief in knowledge-sharing and mutual support, she’s eager to help students progress and succeed.
The Value of the Peer Mentoring Program
The OPIT Peer Career Mentoring Program is an invaluable source of support, inspiration, motivation, and guidance for the many students and graduates of OPIT who feel the need for a helping hand or guiding light to help them find the way or make the right decisions moving forward. It’s a program built around the sharing of wisdom, skills, and insights, designed to empower all who take part.
Every student is different. Some have very clear, fixed, and firm objectives in mind for their futures. Others may have a slightly more vague outline of where they want to go and what they want to do. Others live more in the moment, focusing purely on the here and now, but not thinking too far ahead. All of these different types of people may need guidance and support from time to time, and peer mentoring provides that.
This program is also just one of many ways in which OPIT bridges the gaps between learners around the world, creating a whole community of students and educators, linked together by their shared passions for technology and development. So, even though you may study remotely at OPIT, you never need to feel alone or isolated from your peers.
Additional Career Services Offered by OPIT
The Peer Career Mentoring Program is just one part of the larger array of career services that students enjoy at the Open Institute of Technology.
- Career Coaching and Support: Students can schedule one-to-one sessions with the institute’s experts to receive insightful feedback, flexibly customized to their exact needs and situation. They can request resume audits, hone their interview skills, and develop action plans for the future, all with the help of experienced, expert coaches.
- Resource Hub: Maybe you need help differentiating between various career paths, or seeing where your degree might take you. Or you need a bit of assistance in handling the challenges of the job-hunting process. Either way, the OPIT Resource Hub contains the in-depth guides you need to get ahead and gain practical skills to confidently move forward.
- Career Events: Regularly, OPIT hosts online career event sessions with industry experts and leaders as guest speakers about the topics that most interest today’s tech students and graduates. You can join workshops to sharpen your skills and become a better prospect in the job market, or just listen to the lessons and insights of the pros.
- Internship Opportunities: There are few better ways to begin your professional journey than an internship at a top-tier company. OPIT unlocks the doors to numerous internship roles with trusted institute partners, as well as additional professional and project opportunities where you can get hands-on work experience at a high level.
In addition to the above, OPIT also teams up with an array of leading organizations around the world, including some of the biggest names, including AWS, Accenture, and Hype. Through this network of trust, OPIT facilitates students’ steps into the world of work.
Start Your Study Journey Today
As well as the Peer Career Mentoring Program, OPIT provides numerous other exciting advantages for those who enroll, including progressive assessments, round-the-clock support, affordable rates, and a team of international professors from top universities with real-world experience in technology. In short, it’s the perfect place to push forward and get the knowledge you need to succeed.
So, if you’re eager to become a tech leader of tomorrow, learn more about OPIT today.
Read the articleThe world has entered the age of artificial intelligence (AI), and this exciting new technology is already changing the face of society in an ever-growing number of ways. It’s influencing a plethora of industries and sectors, from healthcare and education to finance and urban planning. This guide explores AI’s impact on three of the core pillars of life: business, education, and sustainability.
AI in Business: Unlocking Unprecedented Opportunities
In the world of business, the number of uses of AI is growing by the day. Whether it’s in sales, marketing, customer relations, operational optimization, cybersecurity, data management, or some other aspect of organizational life, there are so many ways this technology can unlock new opportunities or expedite existing processes.
Take data as an example. Many businesses now collect and use large amounts of data to inform their decisions in areas like product development or marketing strategy. But they have, up to now, been limited in how they can structure, visualize, and analyze their data. AI changes all that, as it can dig into vast databases with ease, extracting insights to drive actionable decisions in no time.
AI also bridges gaps in communications. It has the power to speak in most major languages, translating audio or written text with astonishing accuracy in an instant. In a globalized world, where many businesses buy and sell with partners, suppliers, investors, and other stakeholders from other nations, AI can help them communicate and exchange information more easily and reliably.
AI in Education: Democratizing and Accelerating the Learning Process
In the educational sector, AI is solving problems that have plagued this industry for generations and transforming the ways in which students learn and teachers teach. It can be used, for example, to personalize a student’s learning plan or adapt content to align with each learner’s favored learning style, making it easier for them to soak up and retain information and skills.
AI’s generative capabilities are also proving useful in the education sector. Teachers, for example, can turn to generative AI models to create lesson plans or supplementary content to support their courses, such as tables, charts, infographics, and images. This all helps to make the learning experience more diverse, dynamic, and engaging for every kind of learner.
On a broader level, there’s clear potential for AI to democratize education across the globe, making learning more accessible to all. That includes those in developing nations who may normally lack opportunities to gain knowledge and skills to achieve their ambitions. If harnessed correctly and responsibly, this technology could elevate education to whole new heights.
AI in Sustainability: Smarter Cities and Next-Level Efficiency
Sustainability is one of the sticking points when talking about AI, as many critics of the technology point to the fact that it involves huge amounts of energy and relies heavily on large and costly data centers to operate. At the same time, AI could also solve many of the sustainability crises facing the world today, uncovering solutions and innovations that may have previously taken decades to develop.
It’s already proving its value in this domain. For instance, DeepMind developed an AI system that was actually able to optimize data center energy efficiency, cutting the amount of energy used to cool data center hardware by a whopping 40% and improving energy efficiency in certain centers by 15%. That’s just one example, and it’s only the start of what AI could do from an environmental perspective.
This tech is also making cities smarter, more efficient, and more pleasant in which to live through AI-powered navigation aids or traffic redistribution systems. It also holds potential for future urban planning, city development, and infrastructure construction, provided the correct systems and frameworks can be established to make the best use of AI’s advantages.
The Ethical Challenges and Risks of AI
Despite its almost countless advantages and possible applications, AI is not without its flaws. This technology brings challenges and risks to go along with its opportunities, and five leading examples include:
- Bias: Algorithmic bias is an issue that has already presented itself during the relatively brief existence of AI so far. Some systems, for example, have issued responses or generated content that could be classified as discriminatory or prejudiced, due to the training data they were given.
- Privacy: There are fears among populations and analysts about the amount of data being fed into AI systems and how such data could be misused, potentially violating people’s rights of privacy and falling foul of data privacy regulations, such as GDPR.
- Misuse: Like so many game-changing technologies, AI has the potential to be used for both benevolent and malicious purposes. It may be used to spread misinformation and “fake news,” influence public opinion, or even in cyber-attacks, for instance.
- Over-reliance: AI is so powerful, with the capacity to carry out tasks with remarkable precision and speed, that it will be tempting for organizations to integrate it into many of their workflows and decision-making processes. But AI cannot be treated as a substitute for human judgment.
- Sustainability: There are also fears about the energy costs associated with AI and the data centers needed to power it, plus the fact that some elements of the burgeoning AI industry may exploit workers in poorer nations worldwide.
Solving These Challenges: Regulation and Responsible Use of AI
With the right approach, it is possible to solve all the above challenges, and more, making AI the most valuable and beneficial new technology the world has seen since the advent of the internet. This will require a two-pronged strategy focusing on both regulation and responsible usage.
Europe is already leading the way in the first aspect. It has introduced the AI Act – a world-first regulatory framework related to artificial intelligence, laying out how it should be used to drive innovation without infringing on the fundamental rights of workers and the larger public.
Educational institutions like the OPIT – Open Institute of Technology are also leading the way in the second aspect, educating people around the world on how to work with AI in a responsible, ethical way, through programs like the MSc in Responsible Artificial Intelligence.
By establishing rules and regulations about AI’s usage and educating the tech leaders of tomorrow in how to work with AI in a fair and responsible way, the future is bright for this exciting and extraordinary new technology.
-
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Related posts
The Open Institute of Technology (OPIT) is the perfect place for those looking to master the core skills and gain the fundamental knowledge they need to enter the exciting and dynamic environment of the tech industry. While OPIT’s various degrees and courses unlock the doors to numerous careers, students may not know exactly which line of work they wish to enter, or how, exactly, to take the next steps.
That’s why, as well as providing exceptional online education in fields like Responsible AI, Computer Science, and Digital Business, OPIT also offers an array of career-related services, like the Peer Career Mentoring Program. Designed to provide the expert advice and support students need, this program helps students and alumni gain inspiration and insight to map out their future careers.
Introducing the OPIT Peer Career Mentoring Program
As the name implies, OPIT’s Peer Career Mentoring Program is about connecting students and alumni with experienced peers to provide insights, guidance, and mentorship and support their next steps on both a personal and professional level.
It provides a highly supportive and empowering space in which current and former learners can receive career-related advice and guidance, harnessing the rich and varied experiences of the OPIT community to accelerate growth and development.
Meet the Mentors
Plenty of experienced, expert mentors have already signed up to play their part in the Peer Career Mentoring Program at OPIT. They include managers, analysts, researchers, and more, all ready and eager to share the benefits of their experience and their unique perspectives on the tech industry, careers in tech, and the educational experience at OPIT.
Examples include:
- Marco Lorenzi: Having graduated from the MSc in Applied Data Science and AI program at OPIT, Marco has since progressed to a role as a Prompt Engineer at RWS Group and is passionate about supporting younger learners as they take their first steps into the workforce or seek career evolution.
- Antonio Amendolagine: Antonio graduated from the OPIT MSc in Applied Data Science and AI and currently works as a Product Marketing and CRM Manager with MER MEC SpA, focusing on international B2B businesses. Like other mentors in the program, he enjoys helping students feel more confident about achieving their future aims.
- Asya Mantovani: Asya took the MSc in Responsible AI program at OPIT before taking the next steps in her career as a Software Engineer with Accenture, one of the largest IT companies in the world, and a trusted partner of the institute. With a firm belief in knowledge-sharing and mutual support, she’s eager to help students progress and succeed.
The Value of the Peer Mentoring Program
The OPIT Peer Career Mentoring Program is an invaluable source of support, inspiration, motivation, and guidance for the many students and graduates of OPIT who feel the need for a helping hand or guiding light to help them find the way or make the right decisions moving forward. It’s a program built around the sharing of wisdom, skills, and insights, designed to empower all who take part.
Every student is different. Some have very clear, fixed, and firm objectives in mind for their futures. Others may have a slightly more vague outline of where they want to go and what they want to do. Others live more in the moment, focusing purely on the here and now, but not thinking too far ahead. All of these different types of people may need guidance and support from time to time, and peer mentoring provides that.
This program is also just one of many ways in which OPIT bridges the gaps between learners around the world, creating a whole community of students and educators, linked together by their shared passions for technology and development. So, even though you may study remotely at OPIT, you never need to feel alone or isolated from your peers.
Additional Career Services Offered by OPIT
The Peer Career Mentoring Program is just one part of the larger array of career services that students enjoy at the Open Institute of Technology.
- Career Coaching and Support: Students can schedule one-to-one sessions with the institute’s experts to receive insightful feedback, flexibly customized to their exact needs and situation. They can request resume audits, hone their interview skills, and develop action plans for the future, all with the help of experienced, expert coaches.
- Resource Hub: Maybe you need help differentiating between various career paths, or seeing where your degree might take you. Or you need a bit of assistance in handling the challenges of the job-hunting process. Either way, the OPIT Resource Hub contains the in-depth guides you need to get ahead and gain practical skills to confidently move forward.
- Career Events: Regularly, OPIT hosts online career event sessions with industry experts and leaders as guest speakers about the topics that most interest today’s tech students and graduates. You can join workshops to sharpen your skills and become a better prospect in the job market, or just listen to the lessons and insights of the pros.
- Internship Opportunities: There are few better ways to begin your professional journey than an internship at a top-tier company. OPIT unlocks the doors to numerous internship roles with trusted institute partners, as well as additional professional and project opportunities where you can get hands-on work experience at a high level.
In addition to the above, OPIT also teams up with an array of leading organizations around the world, including some of the biggest names, including AWS, Accenture, and Hype. Through this network of trust, OPIT facilitates students’ steps into the world of work.
Start Your Study Journey Today
As well as the Peer Career Mentoring Program, OPIT provides numerous other exciting advantages for those who enroll, including progressive assessments, round-the-clock support, affordable rates, and a team of international professors from top universities with real-world experience in technology. In short, it’s the perfect place to push forward and get the knowledge you need to succeed.
So, if you’re eager to become a tech leader of tomorrow, learn more about OPIT today.
The world has entered the age of artificial intelligence (AI), and this exciting new technology is already changing the face of society in an ever-growing number of ways. It’s influencing a plethora of industries and sectors, from healthcare and education to finance and urban planning. This guide explores AI’s impact on three of the core pillars of life: business, education, and sustainability.
AI in Business: Unlocking Unprecedented Opportunities
In the world of business, the number of uses of AI is growing by the day. Whether it’s in sales, marketing, customer relations, operational optimization, cybersecurity, data management, or some other aspect of organizational life, there are so many ways this technology can unlock new opportunities or expedite existing processes.
Take data as an example. Many businesses now collect and use large amounts of data to inform their decisions in areas like product development or marketing strategy. But they have, up to now, been limited in how they can structure, visualize, and analyze their data. AI changes all that, as it can dig into vast databases with ease, extracting insights to drive actionable decisions in no time.
AI also bridges gaps in communications. It has the power to speak in most major languages, translating audio or written text with astonishing accuracy in an instant. In a globalized world, where many businesses buy and sell with partners, suppliers, investors, and other stakeholders from other nations, AI can help them communicate and exchange information more easily and reliably.
AI in Education: Democratizing and Accelerating the Learning Process
In the educational sector, AI is solving problems that have plagued this industry for generations and transforming the ways in which students learn and teachers teach. It can be used, for example, to personalize a student’s learning plan or adapt content to align with each learner’s favored learning style, making it easier for them to soak up and retain information and skills.
AI’s generative capabilities are also proving useful in the education sector. Teachers, for example, can turn to generative AI models to create lesson plans or supplementary content to support their courses, such as tables, charts, infographics, and images. This all helps to make the learning experience more diverse, dynamic, and engaging for every kind of learner.
On a broader level, there’s clear potential for AI to democratize education across the globe, making learning more accessible to all. That includes those in developing nations who may normally lack opportunities to gain knowledge and skills to achieve their ambitions. If harnessed correctly and responsibly, this technology could elevate education to whole new heights.
AI in Sustainability: Smarter Cities and Next-Level Efficiency
Sustainability is one of the sticking points when talking about AI, as many critics of the technology point to the fact that it involves huge amounts of energy and relies heavily on large and costly data centers to operate. At the same time, AI could also solve many of the sustainability crises facing the world today, uncovering solutions and innovations that may have previously taken decades to develop.
It’s already proving its value in this domain. For instance, DeepMind developed an AI system that was actually able to optimize data center energy efficiency, cutting the amount of energy used to cool data center hardware by a whopping 40% and improving energy efficiency in certain centers by 15%. That’s just one example, and it’s only the start of what AI could do from an environmental perspective.
This tech is also making cities smarter, more efficient, and more pleasant in which to live through AI-powered navigation aids or traffic redistribution systems. It also holds potential for future urban planning, city development, and infrastructure construction, provided the correct systems and frameworks can be established to make the best use of AI’s advantages.
The Ethical Challenges and Risks of AI
Despite its almost countless advantages and possible applications, AI is not without its flaws. This technology brings challenges and risks to go along with its opportunities, and five leading examples include:
- Bias: Algorithmic bias is an issue that has already presented itself during the relatively brief existence of AI so far. Some systems, for example, have issued responses or generated content that could be classified as discriminatory or prejudiced, due to the training data they were given.
- Privacy: There are fears among populations and analysts about the amount of data being fed into AI systems and how such data could be misused, potentially violating people’s rights of privacy and falling foul of data privacy regulations, such as GDPR.
- Misuse: Like so many game-changing technologies, AI has the potential to be used for both benevolent and malicious purposes. It may be used to spread misinformation and “fake news,” influence public opinion, or even in cyber-attacks, for instance.
- Over-reliance: AI is so powerful, with the capacity to carry out tasks with remarkable precision and speed, that it will be tempting for organizations to integrate it into many of their workflows and decision-making processes. But AI cannot be treated as a substitute for human judgment.
- Sustainability: There are also fears about the energy costs associated with AI and the data centers needed to power it, plus the fact that some elements of the burgeoning AI industry may exploit workers in poorer nations worldwide.
Solving These Challenges: Regulation and Responsible Use of AI
With the right approach, it is possible to solve all the above challenges, and more, making AI the most valuable and beneficial new technology the world has seen since the advent of the internet. This will require a two-pronged strategy focusing on both regulation and responsible usage.
Europe is already leading the way in the first aspect. It has introduced the AI Act – a world-first regulatory framework related to artificial intelligence, laying out how it should be used to drive innovation without infringing on the fundamental rights of workers and the larger public.
Educational institutions like the OPIT – Open Institute of Technology are also leading the way in the second aspect, educating people around the world on how to work with AI in a responsible, ethical way, through programs like the MSc in Responsible Artificial Intelligence.
By establishing rules and regulations about AI’s usage and educating the tech leaders of tomorrow in how to work with AI in a fair and responsible way, the future is bright for this exciting and extraordinary new technology.
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