Making Our Footprint in Silicon Valley

Our First Ever Course on the West Coast

Some argue that technology drives humans apart. MIT believes that the shared interest of technology and innovation brings people together. This philosophy was in full effect in late March when MIT Professional Education brought the Designing Efficient Deep Learning Systems course to Samsung Research America in Mountain View, California.

The course was a melting pot of tech giants, with engineers and managers from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and other major firms in attendance. It was also inspiring to see how many MIT alumni ended up representing the face of Silicon Valley - and technology as a whole. The diverse representation of participants was incredibly engaged. Even in our connected world, everyone ignored their phones, engaged with Professor Vivienne Sze, and discussed course content with one another during breaks. “Prof. Vivienne took the participants into an engaging thought process of how to ask the right questions about not just building but also evaluating AI optimized hardware that might be launched in the market in the future,” said Rolly Seth, Program Manager at Microsoft Garage.

As MIT looks to continue its leadership in machine learning and artificial intelligence, MIT Professional Education realizes the need to answer a call for training on this topic. This cohort of passionate participants was eager to learn, and was actively seeking hands-on training in their field, to reconnect with the community, and to test themselves and see not just where their knowledge is currently, but to see if they’re going in the right direction.

The trip to Silicon Valley was a new experience for MIT Professional Education, too, as we’ve never had the chance to bring one of our courses there — and that’s a big part of our mission moving forward. We will continue to expand, to bring the education to you, to reconnect with the MIT community, and to continue MIT’s devotion to advancing technology and innovation.