Artificial Intelligence will be underlying many [future] solutions for our clients; thus, we as consultants need to have in-depth knowledge on concepts and architectures to give advice on how to adopt AI in banking, insurance and at their service providers.
Tell us a little about yourself
48 years old – Living and working in Switzerland
Co-owner of a boutique consulting firm (https://www.itopia.ch/en), advising clients in the financial services industry with regard to information and technology management
Chairman of the board of itopia AG
BSc in Engineering (Telecommunications)
(Executive) MBA in General Management (Simon School, University of Rochester, NY)
Diploma of Advanced Studies in Banking (University of Berne, Switzerland)
Why did you choose to study your programme?
Artificial Intelligence will be underlying many [future] solutions for our clients; thus, we as consultants need to have in-depth knowledge on concepts and architectures to give advice on how to adopt AI in banking, insurance and at their service providers.
itopia also has a strong foothold in data modelling, and data engineering for financial institutions. We are interested in designing, acquiring, managing and provisioning data to maximise value when used in AI-assisted applications.
AI will impact our management consulting practice as well; the programme shall also help to identify emerging opportunites and challenges caused by AI.
Why did you decide to study online with the University of Liverpool?
My business and family situation do not allow me to go abroad or attend a full-time programme.
Liverpool offers an ideal combination of breadth/depth for a management/technology consultant. There is no pure focus on management concepts, nor a narrow focus on ML/DL only, but AI in general; not a pure focus on programming or data science, but practically oriented and technically sound.
What have your first impressions of the programme been like?
There is a good pace [and it has been] a good start with the ‘General Trends in Computer Science’ module. There is an interesting selection of students with varying experience/backgrounds, and I am learning a lot from the cohort as well. There is a good selection of topics; there could be a better choice for a few materials of the reading list. There is a good balance across types of assignments (individual vs group, discussion forum vs. essay writing), strong support from lecturers, and useful feedback on assignments.
The technology is reliable and helpful (online learning portal, MS Teams and all other tools like EndNote etc. for managing references,).
The flexibility within the module was limited: assignments due in one week dependent on other students’ contributions from the week before; this can be challenging to juggle business/family/student commitments.
15-20 hours of study per week seems the right investment, assuming (a) a good foundation and (b) focusing on the ‘must-do’ parts. If someone lacks a programming background, has the ambition to get very high grades, and wants to read/watch all additional materials, then more time may be required.
What are you looking forward to most on your programme?
All modules are equally important for my work, with the exception of robotics.
Looking forward to the dissertation!
