What Did Graduates Say About The Course
Danielly Kaufmann
Artist and primary school art teacher
Graduated EoAI 14.3.2025
Why did you start the course?
I am an AI enthusiast and was already engaged in training related to AI and education. When I discovered that the University of Luxembourg was promoting this course—an initiative by the University of Helsinki that I was already aware of and greatly admired—I was excited to join. I saw it as a fantastic opportunity to deepen my understanding and be part of a program designed to prepare citizens for the future of AI.
How did the course change your view on AI?
The course was much more detailed than I had imagined, offering a broader perspective on the origins of AI, a more grounded view of where it is headed, and valuable theoretical insights into how AI actually works. While it didn’t exactly change my perspective, it certainly strengthened my intellectual and professional engagement with the field.
What were the most valuable learnings from the course, and do you think these will have (or have had) an impact on your professional and personal life?
One of the most valuable aspects of this course is the strong community involvement. The forum and online lounge create an interactive space where participants can exchange ideas and engage in discussions. This sense of human connection and shared learning adds an important social dimension to exploring AI in today’s world.
François Papin
44 years, primary teacher in a French public school
Graduated EoAI 26.7.2024
Why did you start the course?
Firstly, I would take the train of progress.
Secondly, I would develop my competencies in emerging technologies.
Thirdly, I would like to know more about fundamental research in AI, to know more about AI applications, and maybe one day to innovate by using new AI tools in the field of fundamental research and in the field education.
How did the course change your view on AI?
Firstly, the course « Elements of AI » strengthened my view of AI that AI is both a vast object of study in the computer science and a broad field of applications in many sectors (like research, health, education, finance, …).
Secondly, the course strengthened my view of AI that AI offered many powerful applications and offered new opportunities to search, to learn, to teach, to innovate.
Thirdly, the course brought me a better understanding of AI basics, key concepts and techniques, real-world applications, connections with others domains like neuroscience, cognitive science, robotics, big data.
Fourthly, the course offered and opened some new reflections about Ethics of AI, AI in society, Human rights and AI.
What were the most valuable learnings from the course and do you think these will have (or have had) an impact on your professional and personal life?
I loved this whole course.
After the course "Elements of AI", I continued on my way with the courses « Ethics of AI », « AI in society », « Rethinking Health » (from the University of Helsinki) or even « Artificial intelligence and Human Rights » (from the HELP platform, Council of Europe), « Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence for Health » (from the OpenWHO).
I extended my curiosity by discovering new research articles or new research books like « Radical Solutions for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation in Education » (Editors : Daniel Burgos et al. ; 2024 ; Springer Verlag, Singapore) or « The Law, Ethics and Policy of Artificial Intelligence » (Editors : Nathalie A. Smuha ; 2025 ; Cambridge University Press), by extending my Linkedin network, by exploring new AI applications.
I also continued on my way with many courses about Human rights.
I am also convinced that e-learning with free online open courses and high-quality university courses (like the courses offered by the Department of Computer Science, University of Helsinki) is very powerful to learn, to teach, to share, to develop science, competences, knowledges and skills, values, or even innovations.
I don’t really use AI in my daily practical professional activities in education. Nevertheless, at least, I use some AI applications like AI-based adaptive learning platforms for K-12 learners (like the great french language application Lalilo, or Navi.education the great mathematical application Mathia ; theses three applications are part of an innovation and artificial intelligence partnership (P2IA) with the Ministry of Education). Moreover, I have ever make some requests on AI applications like ChatGPT or Mistral to create a pedagogical sequence and to inspire my practical education activities.
I would like to achieve some others goals by exploring new AI applications, by using AI applications (1) to make a research survey, (2) to write a research literature review, (3) to create a web site about my research interests, (4) to create and to share pedagogical resources (for teachers or for learners), (5) to teach AI.
Anne Pakkanen
42 years, project manager, digital services/M.Sc. (Econ.)
Graduated EoAI FI 9.8.2024
Why did you start the course?
I was looking to learn something new to develop my professional career and thought and still think that understanding AI would be beneficial and interesting to learn.
How did the course change your view on AI?
It actually made it less abstract. Understanding the difference of scifi and real life. Or should I say that now I have much more down to earth understanding of it.
What were the most valuable learnings from the course and do you think these will have (or have had) an impact on your professional and personal life?
At the same time I have become much more aware of the security threats we have and that AI can be used to boost those threats. Just for example all the false info one can produce with it.
The course made me see/understand the elements of AI, which to me means that I am encouraged and feel comfortable discussing AI in a business context and therefore I believe that my original target of helping me to boost my career might come true.
Suman Kunwar
App developer (climate and sustainability)
Graduated EoAI FI 21.3.2023 (also completed BAI)
Why did you start the course?
I started the course to better understand how AI can solve real-world problems responsibly. With my work on D.Waste (https://www.dwaste.live), an app that uses AI for waste management, I wanted to not only improve my technical skills but also learn how to address the ethical and societal challenges of applying AI.
How did the course change your view on AI?
The course shifted my perspective on AI from being just a technical tool to a powerful societal force. For D.Waste, this meant focusing on making the app inclusive, fair, and transparent while improving its functionality. It taught me that building AI isn’t just about innovation—it’s about responsibility.
What were the most valuable learnings from the course and do you think these will have (or have had) an impact on your professional and personal life?
The biggest takeaways were understanding AI’s ethical risks, its societal impact, and how to design better systems. These lessons have directly improved D.Waste, making it more accurate and accessible. On a personal level, the course reinforced my passion for using AI to drive sustainability and build meaningful solutions.
Richard Golebiowski
67 years, software developer, ERP system administrator
Graduated EoAI 21.5.2023
Why did you start the course?
The main reason that I started the course was because, working in the computer field, it's important to keep up with the latest technologies. But I was also curious about the technology. I knew a few of the basic principles, and "Elements of AI" looked like a course that covered the fundamentals fairly well.
How did the course change your view on AI?
Well, I didn't have a view on AI, so it wasn't changed. What it did do is give me a very good perspective on AI.
What were the most valuable learnings from the course, and do you think these will have (or have had) an impact on your professional and personal life?
1) In having to do a little online research for an assignment, I learned that there is a whole world of AI out there that you do not see covered by the mainstream media.
2) That there are limitations in AI because the information used to train the models is skewed by the available data.
3) It opened up my use of tools for text editing and software development.
Kunal Garg
Physicist (Experimental High Energy Physics)
Graduated 13.2.2025
Why did you start the course?
I am trying to transition from academia to industry. While I have used neural networks in my research, my knowledge was very subject specific. I needed a broader view on the subject, hence I started this course. It was actually suggested to me by ChatGPT.
How did the course change your view on AI?
The biggest learning I took away from this course is that the terminology in AI is scarier than the core concepts. I also learnt how over-hype can actually negatively impact research in a subject.
What were the most valuable learnings from the course, and do you think these will have (or have had) an impact on your professional and personal life?
The most important learning for me was understanding the jargon in the world of AI. There were many concepts I had learned with a different name. Whenever I talked to someone from the AI industry, I would be bombarded with a lot of terms like CNNs, Transformer model, Logistic Regression etc. It was intimidating. This course helped me make sense of that jargon. I can more confidently talk about AI in my CV and job applications now, having learnt those.
Christian Soldatke
46 years, Freelance Creative Director & Copywriter for advertising and communication
Graduated EoAI DE 24.3.2024
Why did you start the course?
I have a general interest in technical innovations, especially AI and I am a big fan of constantly educating myself. AI will have a major impact on my job (Creative Director & Copywriter for advertising and communication). That's why I want to stay up to date here.
How did the course change your view on AI?
For me, AI was initially only of professional interest (GenAI, especially ChatGPT, Midjourney etc.). I also knew that AI also takes place in the background in everyday life (Spotify etc.). But the course made me realise that the use of AI is already much broader. Far beyond my job and my personal everyday life.
What were the most valuable learnings from the course, and do you think these will have (or have had) an impact on your professional and personal life?
The learnings will not have a major impact on my job or personal life because I use AI much more specifically (ChatGPT). I didn't learn any new skills that I can use in my job/personal life. But the course has broadened my horizons in general, see my answer to the previous question. So the learning content was still very, very interesting and valuable for me.