The Micro-Certificate in Artificial Intelligence: Machine Learning is for anyone looking to understand the possibilities of AI and Machine Learning and what they can do for their business or organization, and for their career.

When many people think of Artificial Intelligence, they think of that scary robot assassin in the Terminator movie. But don’t be afraid, says Briana Brownell, content provider for the Artificial Intelligence: Machine Learning Solutions micro-certificate program. AI is good for every industry and savvy professionals must be aware of the technologies and how they can determine effective solutions to their most important business challenges like retaining customers, making better products, reducing risk, marketing effectively, innovating and leading in their marketplace.

“This is mission critical for most industries now. There is a push to have technology infrastructure, the ability to collect and analyze data quickly, and to create solutions,” says the founder and CEO of Pure Strategy Inc. noting examples of AI and Machine Learning in action are all around us providing us with relevant data from Netflix recommendations to Facebook news, and even auto-correcting us on our phones.

“One of the biggest challenges in any business is to understand the possibilities of AI and Machine Learning and how to use them in order to achieve what the organization most needs to do. It’s not about AI for its own sake. This program provides a basic understanding of what’s possible and how you can apply it,” says Brownell. “AI is such an effective and useful area for business.”

For alumni, professionals and graduate students

It’s designed for professionals who have some experience in the business world, to provide them with relevant, real-world AI and Machine Learning applications. It will also complement the studies of graduate students and IT professionals alike by providing them with additional practical experience with real-world data and problems.

Brownell’s courses, “Machine Learning Algorithms and Frameworks” and “Developing Machine Learning Solutions”, will incorporate examples and case studies featuring a variety of data including customer information, music, images, and photos. “It’s not just numbers and financial data. This applies in every type of industry.”

The courses will also have an important discussion of AI ethics including big questions like how to manage its privacy implications. “These are important conversations for everyone in every business or organization. It’s not just the responsibility of tech or governance. We want people to think about the implications and be involved in the conversations.”

With AI and Machine Learning, “It’s all about the data,” says Arooj Ahmed Qureshi, content provider for the “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning” course.

“There is no magic. The processing is too complex for the human mind to understand so we train AI to make decisions. We need to understand the steps. We need the tools. We need to do this responsibly. That’s what this program is all about,” says the data scientist at EnPowered.

For IT professionals and aspiring CTOs

For this program, you don’t need to be a computer programmer to understand the industry, how to make a product, and how to keep a check on it. But experienced IT professionals who are usually focused on coding can also benefit from this program because it offers them the bigger picture of the industry. For those who would like to position themselves as Chief Technical Officer (CTO) in their firm, says Qureshi, she would especially recommend the first course. “It gives you the overall picture to add to your coding. That puts you in a strong position, providing you with good insights on the industry.”

As a busy data analyst with over a decade of experience, even Qureshi learned something new from creating this course. In the process, she finally realized why a previous AI Machine Learning project of hers was destined to fail. Medical privacy laws would never allow it.

“You just can’t make everything you can imagine,” Qureshi says. “You need to be responsible for what you design. You may have a great idea and good technical skills but you need to understand the rules and regulations that govern an industry and technology as well.”

Understanding “Responsible AI” or how to operate within privacy and other laws that apply to such technology, is also an important part of this program.

“I realized a lot by doing this content. Even as a working professional, you don’t always get time to look into things in so much detail. This also gave me a good insight and good perspective… Extended Education programs are created with industry people. It’s important to make this connection with the real world and prior experience or knowledge. This is very good.”

Artificial Intelligence is the backbone of all advances in technology, says Cuneyt Akcora, program consultant from the Faculty of Science. Over time, any intelligent developments in computer science are AI-related. If you want to use them, you need to know the basics.

A new kind of literacy

“I see it as an important new kind of literacy. If you don’t understand AI and Machine Learning, others have an advantage over you. You don’t need to program but you need to understand,” says the professor of computer science and statistics.

“Machine learning is the intersection between computer science, statistics and mathematics. It can be applied to anything, in any company with a lot of data like readings or photos, to clearly predict results. If you have data in a system, if you work in a company, it is good to have an overview of algorithms needed. Automation is becoming even better. These are easy things to do.”

For example, a farmer may want to reduce the use of chemicals in farm operations so they would need to know which data and algorithms to use and then the robots can lead. Or, if you work for a bank, AI is used to assess credit applications. The algorithms automatically deny some applicants and approve others. Or if you work in human resources, algorithms on job search websites narrow down applications for specific jobs. You need to know how they are figuring this out.

“Understanding AI will help you and your company in most of the jobs today,” says Akcora.

“I very much like the practical aspects of this program. It is not coding, and not using data searches. Coding is often automated these days. It is about understanding the decisions made by AI, understanding the main direction, where to focus, the tools needed to know. It is a very nice view of this.”

Learn more about the micro-certificate

This is a micro-certificate for anyone looking to understand the possibilities of AI and Machine Learning and what they can do for their business or organization, and for their career.

When many people think of Artificial Intelligence, they think of that scary robot assassin in the Terminator movie. But don’t be afraid, says Briana Brownell, content provider for the Artificial Intelligence: Machine Learning Solutions micro-certificate program. AI is good for every industry and savvy professionals must be aware of the technologies and how they can determine effective solutions to their most important business challenges like retaining customers, making better products, reducing risk, marketing effectively, innovating and leading in their marketplace.

“This is mission critical for most industries now. There is a push to have technology infrastructure, the ability to collect and analyze data quickly, and to create solutions,” says the founder and CEO of Pure Strategy Inc. noting examples of AI and Machine Learning in action are all around us providing us with relevant data from Netflix recommendations to Facebook news, and even auto-correcting us on our phones.

“One of the biggest challenges in any business is to understand the possibilities of AI and Machine Learning and how to use them in order to achieve what the organization most needs to do. It’s not about AI for its own sake. This program provides a basic understanding of what’s possible and how you can apply it,” says Brownell. “AI is such an effective and useful area for business.”

For alumni, professionals and graduate students
It’s designed for professionals who have some experience in the business world, to provide them with relevant, real-world AI and Machine Learning applications. It will also compliment the studies of graduate students and IT professionals alike by providing them with additional practical experience with real-world data and problems.

Brownell’s courses, “Machine Learning Algorithms and Frameworks” and “Developing Machine Learning Solutions”, will incorporate examples and case studies featuring a variety of data including customer information, music, images, and photos. “It’s not just numbers and financial data. This applies in every type of industry.”

The courses will also have an important discussion of AI ethics including big questions like how to manage its privacy implications. “These are important conversations for everyone in every business or organization. It’s not just the responsibility of tech or governance. We want people to think about the implications and be involved in the conversations.”

With AI and Machine Learning, “It’s all about the data,” says Arooj Ahmed Qureshi, content provider for the “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning” course.

“There is no magic. The processing is too complex for the human mind to understand so we train AI to make decisions. We need to understand the steps. We need the tools. We need to do this responsibly. That’s what this program is all about,” says the data scientist at EnPowered.

For IT professionals and aspiring CTOs
For this program, you don’t need to be a computer programmer to understand the industry, how to make a product, and how to keep a check on it. But experienced IT professionals who are usually focused on coding can also benefit from this program because it offers them the bigger picture of the industry. For those who would like to position themselves as Chief Technical Officer (CTO) in their firm, says Qureshi, she would especially recommend the first course. “It gives you the overall picture to add to your coding. That puts you in a strong position, providing you with good insights on the industry.”

As a busy data analyst with over a decade of experience, even Qureshi learned something new from creating this course. In the process, she finally realized why a previous AI Machine Learning project of hers was destined to fail. Medical privacy laws would never allow it.

“You just can’t make everything you can imagine,” Qureshi says. “You need to be responsible for what you design. You may have a great idea and good technical skills but you need to understand the rules and regulations that govern an industry and technology as well.”

Understanding “Responsible AI” or how to operate within privacy and other laws that apply to such technology, is also an important part of this program.

“I realized a lot by doing this content. Even as a working professional, you don’t always get time to look into things in so much detail. This also gave me a good insight and good perspective… Extended Education programs are created with industry people. It’s important to make this connection with the real world and prior experience or knowledge. This is very good.”

Artificial Intelligence is the backbone of all advances in technology, says Cuneyt Akcora, program consultant from the Faculty of Science. Over time, any intelligent developments in computer science are AI-related. If you want to use them, you need to know the basics.

A new kind of literacy
“I see it as an important new kind of literacy. If you don’t understand AI and Machine Learning, others have an advantage over you. You don’t need to program but you need to understand,” says the professor of computer science and statistics.

“Machine learning is the intersection between computer science, statistics and mathematics. It can be applied to anything, in any company with a lot of data like readings or photos, to clearly predict results. If you have data in a system, if you work in a company, it is good to have an overview of algorithms needed. Automation is becoming even better. These are easy things to do.”

For example, a farmer may want to reduce the use of chemicals in farm operations so they would need to know which data and algorithms to use and then the robots can lead. Or, if you work for a bank, AI is used to assess credit applications. The algorithms automatically deny some applicants and approve others. Or if you work in human resources, algorithms on job search websites narrow down applications for specific jobs. You need to know how they are figuring this out.

 “Understanding AI will help you and your company in most of the jobs today,” says Akcora.

“I very much like the practical aspects of this program. It is not coding, and not using data searches. Coding is often automated these days. It is about understanding the decisions made by AI, understanding the main direction, where to focus, the tools needed to know. It is a very nice view of this.”

Learn more about the Micro-Certificate in Artificial Intelligence: Machine Learning 

Fall readiness checklist:

1. Visit your assigned classroom(s) to confirm the configuration
2. Attend a demonstration of the installed classroom and portable audiovisual equipment
   • Group demonstrations (see schedule below).
   • Schedule a One-on-One demonstration for unique teaching spaces
     • Reserve the space through AdAstra then book a demo through the IST Service Desk.

3. Check your tech:
   • Make sure you are connected to the UM WiFi network (uofm secure instructions)
   • Ensure you are set up for Multifactor Authentication
   • Buy your lapel microphone – contact your business manager to order through EPIC
   • Get the right video adaptor for your laptop – rooms have VGA or HDMI connections

Demonstrations – Classroom and Portable AV Equipment

IST Audio-Visual is hosting demonstrations of the university’s installed classroom and portable audiovisual equipment.

We will show you:

• The features of the room that are available to instructors
• Basic troubleshooting procedures 
• How the following room configurations and technologies work:

1. Extron Touch Panel – Examples: Tier 301, Armes 205
2. Creston Touch Panel – Examples: University College 240, EITC 3 207, Robert Schultz 172
3. MLC Control Panel – Examples: Tier 206, University College 237
4. Extron System 8 – Examples: EITC 2 130, St John’s 118
5. Portable Equipment – Technology includes Data projector, document viewer
6. Bring Your Own Device – Focused primarily on laptops, MacBook’s, iPad, and connecting your device to the control panel and display

Demonstrations are on the following days:

Tuesday, August 23

• 9:00 am to 11:00 am – Extron Touch Panel (Armes 204)
• 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm – Extron System 8 (Drake 107)

Wednesday, August 24

• 9:00 am to 11:00 am – MLC Control Panel (University College 237)
• 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm – Crestron Touch Panel (St. John’s 172)

Thursday, August 25

• 9:00 am to 11:00 am – Bring your own device (St. John’s 125)
• 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm – Portable equipment (Tier 401)

Tuesday, August 30

• 9:00 am to 11:00 am – Portable equipment (Tier 401)
• 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm – Bring your own device (St. John’s 125)

Wednesday, August 31

• 9:00 am to 11:00 am – Crestron Touch Panel (St. John’s 172)
• 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm – Bring your own device (St. John’s 125)

Thursday, September 1

• 9:00 am to 11:00 am – Extron System 8 (Drake 107)
• 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm – Bring your own device (St. John’s 125)

Please note:

• We encourage you to attend a demonstration of the equipment you will use so that you are fully prepared. We are not resourced to attend every class.
• Blended / hybrid teaching where there is a combination of students both in class and remote is currently not supported at the University of Manitoba. Should you wish to discuss this topic further please contact Mark Torchia, Vice Provost (Teaching and Learning).
• Audio Visual Classroom support will respond to any urgent in-class issues that you may encounter. Contact the IST Service Desk at 204-474-8600 and we will respond in person as soon as possible.

If you have any questions or need assistance being prepared for fall classes, please contact the IST Service Desk at: 2040-474-8600 or check online at https://umanitoba.ca/computing/ist/help/index.html.

Complete a basic request form with the request name, who the approver is, along with any additional information or required attachments. Alternatively, you can use a pre-designed or custom template to tailor the approval request to your unique needs. 

You can view and manage your approvals from the Approvals app in Teams and each request is displayed along with key details. You can also select a specific approval to see more information and track its progress. 

If you require something more custom, you can either use a Power Automate approval template or build your own. 

An introductory session on the basic use of the Approvals app is available as part of IST’s M365 series of courses. To sign-up for the new Approvals session visit LOD and search for M365. 

For more information about the Approvals app, visit What is Approvals. 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/what-is-approvals-a9a01c95-e0bf-4d20-9ada-f7be3fc283d3

YuJa Video will also caption your UM Zoom recordings, making them more accessible. Once the UM Zoom recording is imported into YuJa Video, you can add quizzes and track student progress through the video.

Learn more

• Watch the instructional video to help you set up the UM Zoom to YuJa Video integration.
• Attend a UM Zoom workshop to learn more about how UM Zoom and YuJa Video work together or book an Ask an Expert session for a one-on-one consultation.
• Visit The Centre’s website for more information.

Support

If you have any questions about using YuJa Video, please contact YuJa Inc. directly between 8 am and 8 pm CST one of the following ways:

By phone: 1-888-257-2278

By email: support@yuja.com

Through Twitter: @yujanow

By consulting YuJa Inc. support documentation: https://support.yuja.com/hc/en-us

Adding a second-factor device completes your Duo enrolment so you can access all MFA-protected services.

How to add your second-factor device

Option 1:

You can add your device by doing the following:
1. Open a browser (Google Chrome is recommended) and go to http://portal.office.com.
2. Enter your UM email address and password.
3. Duo will prompt you to add your second-factor device. Follow the prompts to complete your setup.

Option 2:

Duo will prompt you to add your device the first time you log in to an MFA-protected service like UM email.

If you want to see what adding a device in Duo looks like before you proceed, please review our text-based instructions:

• How to enrol your second-factor device in Duo MFA (PDF)
• How to enrol your second-factor device in Duo MFA (.doc)

Visit https://umanitoba.ca/multi-factor-authentication for more information about using Duo MFA.

If you cannot use a mobile device with Duo MFA, please contact the IST Service Desk at 204-474-8600 to request an alternative option.

Thank you for your cooperation!

We invite you to join our IT Learning Coordinator in learning more about Microsoft 365. Training sessions on Teams, Teams Breakout Rooms, File Sharing, MS Forms, and more. 

Each session is one hour in length and will be delivered through Teams. 

Visit the LOD registration site and search for M365 to find and register for your preferred sessions. 

Please feel free to contact the IST Service Desk at 204-474-8600 with any questions about our IT training series. For assistance using LODReg or LODReg account questions, contact Lynn Bohonos at Lynn.Bohonos@umanitoba.ca or 204-474-9124. 

Duo MFA will be required to continue using an ever-increasing number of applications, including Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Teams, OneDrive etc.), UM Intranet, UM Zoom, EPIC and Concur.

What does this mean for you? 

To ensure you will have uninterrupted access to your email and other services like UM Zoom, self-enrol your account and device in Duo before your automatic enrolment deadline. 

Information Services and Technology (IST) will automatically enrol all students, staff and faculty accounts in Duo MFA by June 1, 2022. Enrolments will focus on students first, then faculty and staff. 

• Student accounts will be automatically enrolled in Duo starting May 4, 2022. 
• Staff and faculty accounts will be automatically enrolled in Duo on June 1, 2022. 

Why is this happening now? 

The deployment of multi-factor authentication (MFA) for faculty, staff and student accounts is in response to a dramatic rise in the scope and sophistication of phishing, spear phishing, and malware attacks targeting our university community. The high rate of compromised credentials associated with these campaigns is an acute threat to information security at the University of Manitoba. Hundreds of user accounts are compromised at the University each year. 

MFA is shown to reduce the number of exploits from compromised accounts by upwards of 99%.  

For more information, visit UM multi-factor authentication. 

Support and resources 

Visit the UM multi-factor authentication website for more information about Duo MFA, self-enrolment guides and answers to frequently asked questions.  

Prioritized IST Service Desk support will be available following the automatic enrolment dates. 

We are also launching a series of lunch and learn webinars to help staff and faculty enrol in Duo after May 4.  

Important note about user issues after enrolling in MFA

After enrolling in MFA, a small percentage of users may experience one or both of the following: 

• You cannot send or receive UM email from some of your devices. 

• You are continually prompted to enter your login information when trying to access your UM email. 

This known issue is resolved by removing and re-adding your email account: 

• Instructions for Mac and iOS (PDF) 
• Instructions for Windows: Remove an email account, Add an email account 
• Instructions for Android: Add or remove an account on Android 

Any questions or concerns about mandatory MFA or automatic enrolment may be directed to MultifactorAuth [at] umanitoba [dot] ca.

Congratulations to the winners of a $25 UM BookStore gift card!

Students:

• Brian Toor
• Ann Ahn
• Jacalyn Grey
• Karen Livingston
• Camila Chacon
• Jordyn Lerner
• Viktor Popp
• Kha Pham
• Vahid Askarpour
• Peter Gailis

Staff:

• Janice Winkler
• Doreen Davies
• Emily Falk
• Heidi Adamko
• Louella Yambot
• Helen Wong
• Andrew Murray
• Isam Al-Darabsah
• Lisa Lausch
• Brian Lithgow

Opt-in to MFA to be entered to win 

Using multi-factor authentication (MFA) is essential to keep our systems as secure as possible. If you haven’t already, please take the time to opt-in to MFA with Duo today. For more information, visit http://umanitoba.ca/dotheduo 

Note: You do not need to opt-in if you are already using Duo MFA for any university service. Duo MFA is available to all faculty, staff, and students. 

Important note:
If after enrolling in MFA you cannot send or receive email from some of your devices, or you are continually prompted to enter your login information when trying to access your email on one or more of your devices, you will need to remove and re-add your email account.

• Instructions for Mac and iOS (PDF)
• Instructions for Windows: Remove an email account, Add an email account
• Instructions for Android: Add or remove an account on Android

Information Services and Technology (IST) will be applying MFA to Microsoft 365, UM Intranet, UM Zoom, VPN and other services and applications this year. Using Duo helps protect these systems and your data from cyber fraud attempts because it requires you to verify your identity after entering your password.

According to Zdnet.com, 99.9% of compromised accounts did not use multi-factor authentication (MFA).

To help you get started with MFA and Duo, we are challenging you to ‘Do the Duo.’

How do I Do the Duo?

Get started using Duo in just two steps:

1. Opt-in to MFA using the online form.
2. Enrol your phone or mobile device in Duo.

Please note that once you have opted into using MFA, you will be asked to verify your identity with a second factor (Duo) for all MFA-protected systems and services at the university.

Important:
If after enrolling in MFA you cannot send or receive email from any of your devices, or you are continually prompted to enter your login information when trying to access your email on any of your devices,  you will need to remove and re-add your email account.

• Instructions for Mac and iOS (PDF)
• Instructions for Windows: Remove an email account, Add an email account
• Instructions for Android: Add or remove an account on Android

Win great prizes!

Starting this week, everyone using Duo multi-factor authentication (MFA) will be eligible to win some great prizes in weekly draws! If you are already enrolled Duo MFA, your name will be automatically entered in all prize draws.

Prizes include:

• Weekly draws for $25 UM BookStore gift cards
• Early bird draw for a Dell Latitude notebook
• Grand prize draws for an iPad 9 and iPhone 13

The first draw is on February 4, and the list of winners will be published in UM Today weekly.  For more information about the Do the Duo Challenge, visit http://umanitoba.ca/dotheduo.