The speed and breadth of AI adoption in the public sector requires professionals that have a good understanding of the technology, its social consequences and considered impact for public institutions.
What is special and unique about this programme?
Equal attention to technical & governance aspects
The program combines strong theoretical and analytical understanding of governance with valuable technical skills.The Master focuses on the social and governmental impact of AI technologies, and a particular stength of the programme is the close attention paid simultaneously to technical aspects and to imparting an understanding of the technology, to give you the ability to engage on these topics with authority and expertise. You learn how different AI systems work under the hood, from machine learning fundamentals to large language models, all the while engaging with critical issues of ethics, good governance, accountability and the societal impact of AI. While a public administration degree, technological aspects are not an afterthought in the programme. It is crucial to get an intuitive and hands-on understanding of the technology: a lot of governance issues around AI use stem from a misunderstanding of what the technology can and cannot do.
Team of highly qualified lecturers that are international experts on AI & Governance
You will learn from experts: we have one of the strongest teams in Europe doing cutting-edge research on AI and governance (see our lecturer team here). Our faculty are established researchers on these topics, they define the debate and the current state of knowledge on AI and governance. Because our team contributes directly to current research and debates in the field, our curriculum reflects the most recent developments.
As a student, you join an active research community visible in our departmental AI & Digital Governance Lab, our consistent outputs of scientific publications and books on topics of AI governance, and projects on AI funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) in collaboration with societal partners.
Close supervision
Within the programme, there is a lot of interaction between students and lecturers. You receive close guidance in writing your papers and thesis, coupled with timely feedback. This way, you are trained to become a knowledgeable and valued professional to the public sector. Our programme is tailored for personal attention, gives our dedicated lecturers the opportunity to get to know students well, and makes for a close and supportive community among students.
The start date of this programme is 1 September.
