Furthermore, startup companies value the fresh perspective and energy that students can bring to their teams. Students can contribute their skills in data science and AI to help startups solve complex problems and develop new products and services. Working for startups also provides students with a unique opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship, innovation and startup culture, giving them valuable work experience that is highly sought after by future employers.
Before Christmas, NORA.startup matched two bachelor student groups in their third year from Kristiania University College working on their bachelor projects with two members of NORA.startup, namely Aiveo and Bergen Robotics. At the end of the Bachelor's degree at Kristiania University College (Department of Technology), students are expected to complete a Bachelor's project in collaboration with a company. The foundational courses they have been taught covers the foundation of Data science and AI, examples include machine learning, NLP, deep learning, predictive analytics, software design, python programming. The project should provide training in carrying out a demanding project with a well-functioning group and a documented end result. For more information about the Data Science program at Kristiania University College, click here.
The bachelor students were looking for exciting bachelor projects starting in January 2023 lasting until May 2023 - and where better to look than amongst the members of NORA.startup?
We talked to Aiveo and Bergen Robotics about their experience working with the students, and below you can read their testimonials from working with the students.
Aiveo, Jeanette Tharaldsen, CEO & Co-founder
- What was your main motivation for engaging students in AIVEO?
Morten Goodwin works as a professor at the University of Agder and see students with talents in his classes. In AIVEO, we have chosen to hire a group of students because, as an employer, we get access to a fresh talent pool with an education in the latest technology and industry practices. They can also offer new knowledge; we have already experienced this in one of our previous projects. Young talents in AI are also comfortable with new and changing technologies and are willing to adapt and grow with those changes.
- Please describe the project that the students worked on during their stay with AIVEO.
Our idea is to make everyday life better for people living with dementia. The students have been working on our prototype for software for a monitoring device intended as welfare technology for nursing homes to help interpret the patient’s needs. We want to differentiate ourselves from traditional surveillance cameras and sensors. The idea is to place devices with camera and microphone technology in the room (or several rooms) where the person lives. These two functions together can support health personnel and relatives.
The aim is to use artificial intelligence to interpret emotions and pain, e.g., anger and acting out - and what causes this. In addition, our solution will support interpreting language that fails and notify when the person is in pain or needs help, for example, in the event of a fall.
- What was your experience working with the students, and what value did they contribute?
It has been an excellent experience. We value students and often encourage them to take more initiative, not only work on the tasks we give them. They are a group of young talents who significantly understand technology. Seeing that they want to achieve a lot and have the drive and willingness to go the extra mile is inspiring.
- What advice can you provide to startups who want to work with students?
We think it is important to remember that they are young adults with high expectations for working life. They are often fast learners, and as long as you take good care of them and give them time to adapt to the way of working in your company, it will most likely be an incredible journey for both parties! Sometimes there is a need to give them basic training for business life, especially in meetings with customers where it is essential to perform good customer service. When it comes to the tasks, good advice is to have a CTO follow them up regularly.
«It is incredibly exciting to be a part of an AI company that can contribute with beneficial solutions in our society. Although we may have some barriers in front of us in terms of how mature the healthcare sector is in relation to adopting AI in welfare technology, I have great faith in the strong team in AIVEO. We are excited to develop a solution that can provide a better everyday life for people living with dementia.
NORA startup is an important arena for us going forward, especially with regard to the relevant network and valuable connections we get through our membership!»
– Jeanette Tharaldsen, CEO and Co-Founder AIVEO
Nils Jakob Berland, CEO & Founder, Bergen Robotics
- What was your main motivation for engaging students in Bergen Robotics?
To further develop our product, I needed to get talent with more practical experience with radars and AI - and rather than sit down and do all the necessary testing myself, a group of students could do the practical work and learn a lot at the same time!
- Please describe the project which the students worked with during their stay with Bergen Robotics
AI used on images/video is a well known topic. AI is however also capable of detecting features in «images» produced by radars. The purpose of the students' project was to explore how one can train «deep neural networks» to use radar images rather than images from cameras. Actually, the training used normal images as «ground truth» to train the DNNs for radar images.
- What was your experience of working with the students and what value did they contribute?
I am really impressed with what the group did achieve and the enthusiasm they showed for the project! They did indeed show that radar + AI worked fine together!
- What advice can you provide to other startups who wish to work with students?
I believe it is very important to have regular meetings - some virtual and some physical - to make the project more a «conversation» about how things work and what to do. It is also important to set specific goals / milestones for progress. And of course - make sure that the students have fun!
Are you interested in working with students? Contact birte.hansen@nora.ai for more information.
This articles was originally published on the 30th of May, 2023.