JYUnity

What if someone with a master’s degree in technology (DI, diplomi-insinöörin tutkinto) had, in addition to strong IT expertise, knowledge about the structures of the human body and how it functions? This would provide competence to develop innovative software that would employ AI and various data sources in support of physical exercise for better condition or for rehabilitation purposes? Kaisa Miettinen, Professor of Industrial Optimization from the JYU Faculty of Information Technology, looks at the strengths of the new bachelor’s and master’s education in information and software engineering, which will start in autumn 2021 in Jyväskylä.

What if someone with a master’s degree in technology could develop new systems to support learning by integrating the tools of modern information technology and machine learning with the latest understanding of humans as learners? This could yield, for example, enhanced aids for the organisation and presentation of information.

Digitalisation is changing the world and information technology concerns everybody directly or indirectly. In addition to IT skills, there is a need for insight pertaining to the fields where technology is applied.

We now need systems and tools that are functional in terms of information technology and also genuinely serve the needs of the users. The JYU Master of Science in Technology degree will respond to this challenge.

Owing to its multidisciplinary nature, the University of Jyväskylä offers excellent opportunities for combining information technology with various fields in order to develop competence that matches the current and future needs of the labour market.

For instance, you may combine in your MSc in technology studies content from information technology, optimisation, machine learning, statistical modelling and cognitive science as well as expertise from different application fields. This way you can become a professional of data-based decision-making.

Besides actual recommendations for decisions, graduates from JYU with a master’s degree in technology can combine technology and data to provide well-reasoned justifications and explanations for decisions. You can also help make sustainable decisions in view of the uncertainties relative to the future.

Depending on your personal study choices, as a professional you can contribute to the field of health care, for example, by helping to give recommendations on which type of rehabilitation would best suit each osteoarthritis patient. Or you can help choose an appropriate forest management method, when the goal is not only to get income from timber sales but also to pick berries and mushrooms as well as to consider habitats for endangered species.

With a master’s degree in technology from JYU, you will learn to combine perspectives and expertise from technological and human sciences in a new way. With your broad-based competences, you will more easily find a common language with different collaborators and co-operation partners applying technology and be able to make the world better through your own strengths!

Writer is Kaisa Miettinen, Professor of Industrial Optimization from the JYU Faculty of Information Technology.