INTEGRATING AI HARDWARE IN ACADEMIC TEACHING: EXPERIENCES AND SCOPE FROM BRANDENBURG AND BAVARIA

Abstract. The field of artificial intelligence (AI) has gained increasing importance in recent years due to its potential to sustain growth and prosperity in a disruptive way. However, the role of special hardware for AI is still underdeveloped, and dedicated AI-capable hardware is crucial for effective and efficient processing. Moreover, hardware aspects are often neglected in university teaching, which emphasizes theoretical foundations and algorithmic implementations. As a result, there is a need for courses that focus on AI hardware development and its diverse applications. In response to this need, the BB-KI Chips consortium aims to develop a series of hardware-oriented courses with real-world AI applications. This consortium includes the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the University of Potsdam (UP), which both offer a wide range of courses that focus on AI basics, AI algorithmic development, general computer architectures, chip design, and as well applications of AI. In the BB-KI-CHIPS project, these different capacities are planned to be tightly integrated into a unified curriculum covering knowledge from chip design over AI algorithms and techniques to applications.