RMIT launches autonomous car R&D course

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) Online is forming a partnership with American educational facilitator Udacity to help local students learn about high-tech R&D streams, including self-driving cars.

The course, which is also supported by Holden, is the first of its kind in Australia, according to RMIT Online. Udacity founder Sebastian Thrun has been previously involved in Google's self-driving car project, but it's Udacity's expertise in advanced online courses that has caught RMIT's attention.

The 'Introduction to Self Driving Cars Program' has been hatched in order to plug a gap in the nation's collective autonomous motoring brains trust – what might be called the field of autobotics.

The course is one of four that RMIT Online is introducing in collaboration with Udacity, the other three being AI Programming with Python, Robotics Software Engineering and Front-End Web Development. RMIT Online is offering these courses to boost the local knowledge base for emerging tech, robotics, engineering, and AI fields. The local courses are modelled on similar courses open to Udacity students in the USA.

RMIT Online made contact with Udacity and formed the partnership following the release of an Australian Industry Group study. The study revealed that up to 75 per cent of employers in Australia are unable to find local applicants with the right experience and qualifications to fill job vacancies in automation, big data and AI (artificial intelligence).

Students enrolled in the RMIT Online courses will earn "a University-backed credential and credit pathways towards a degree", according to a press release issued by the institution.

For its part, Holden is backing the initiative out of self interest. The GM subsidiary will directly employ 150 specialist engineers to work on autonomous motoring projects for the future. It's a matter of getting on board now, or getting left behind, with a firm named Infoholic Research predicting revenue from the global autonomous vehicle market will reach US $126.8 billion by 2027.

"We cannot ignore the role that autonomous vehicles will play in the future of transport and mobility," says Brett Vivian, GM Holden Executive Director of Engineering.

"We’re already seeing this revolution unfold across the world, with industry leaders investing heavily in talent skilled in self-driving car technology. We are thrilled to join RMIT and Udacity in driving innovation in an area to which we are so committed.

"On the path towards a driverless future – with safer roads and fewer crashes – we see education as critical to building the technical know-how and developing the soft skills beyond automotive engineering experience that will drive us to the forefront of the industry."

The rapid escalation of revenue over the next 10 years points to the perceived (and actual) safety benefits of autonomous vehicle technology, a point that Udacity's Sebastian Thrun emphasises.

"Researchers estimate that autonomous cars will save 10 million lives per decade," Thrun was quoted as saying in the press release. "It’s an exciting, challenging and infinitely rewarding space to be working together with RMIT Online to educate Australians for the future."

RMIT Online CEO Helen Souness sees nothing but upside for students concerned about sustainable vocational qualifications.

"Disruptive changes to business models will have a profound impact on the employment landscape over the coming years," she observed.

"At RMIT Online, we are working to address these skills gaps and companies and individuals must make a concerted effort to plan and upskill to meet the demands of the changing workforce. Recognising strong parallels in Udacity’s vision, we are thrilled to collaborate to bring the Silicon Valley mindset to Australia’s workforce and beyond."

The courses are already open for enrolment at a launch price of $1280. Further information is available at the website.