HCAIM project is successfully completed, it will soon be continued

2024.11.06.

Human-centred artificial intelligence master’s at BME VIK

The HCAIM (Human-Centred AI Master’s) project, which started in 2021, ended successfully in 2024 with the acceptance of the final report. The members of the consortium – universities, excellence centres and companies from five EU countries – developed a curriculum for master’s students in the topic of human-centred artificial intelligence in English. The 60-credit programme was launched as a complementary master’s programme at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME VIK) in 2022, mainly – but not exclusively – for ICT students due to the required prerequisites. The Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences offers courses in ethics and law.

The human-centred approach to artificial intelligence (AI) seeks to make human values central to the development, deployment, use and monitoring of AI systems by respecting basic human rights. The HCAIM course prepares students to create and implement such AI innovations while harnessing the potential and benefits of AI for today’s digital society.

In the HCAIM project, the main task was the development of the curriculum, but many other accompanying events took place over the years, including webinars, conferences, hackathon competitions (Ethicon), Intensive Blended Programs with Erasmus support.

About 90 BME students have joined the programme since its inception, three of them obtained their qualifications in 2022, a total of eight in 2023, and five in the spring semester of 2024. The number of dropouts is relatively high, around 50%, as students have to acquire extra credits, which often do not fit into their two-year master’s degree. Nonetheless, another 30 students are expected to graduate in 2024 and 2025.

Important accompanying events of the training have been the AI Ethicon and the Blended Intensive Program (BIP) supported by Erasmus. AI Ethicon has been held twice so far, approx. with 20 competitors from BME. BIP will be organized for the third time in the 2024/25 academic year by our Dutch partner, HU Utrecht. 15 BME students participated in the BIP in 2022/23 and 5 in 2023/24. In 2024/25, 15-20 participants are expected from BME.

Although the HCAIM project ended in 2024, its continuation, the PANORAIMA project, is about to start. Its main goal is to extend the HCAI programme to those with a non-IT bachelor’s degree, as well as to graduates who want to continue and extend their studies within the framework of adult education.

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