Going back to school and learning something new is a great way to kick off a brand-new year. As we look ahead to 2024, UW Professional & Continuing Education (UWPCE) is excited to offer new programs this winter and beyond.
This winter's programs include a specialization — a new type of program that allows you to level up your professional skills in a shorter period of time. Specializations are typically held online and last three to six months.
Read on to discover a program that’s just right for a new you in 2024!
IoT Embedded Systems Design
- Type: Specialization
- Starts: January 2024
- Duration: 11 Weeks
- Where: Online
From smart homes to modern cars to wearable devices, embedded technology — aka “the Internet of Things” (IoT) — is a big part of our world. This trend fueled the development of our UW Specialization in IoT Embedded Systems Design, a program perfect for engineers with software development experience, technical product managers, and even tech hobbyists who want to build IoT hardware.
“This specialization is a great fit for students who have a background in embedded engineering but don’t quite have the background in networking or building cloud services,” says Mikhail Skobov, an instructor for the specialization.
The program allows you to acquire real hands-on experience with the technology. You’ll design and deploy your own IoT application on an edge device during the 11-week specialization.
“The biggest focus of this course is teaching students how to build products from scratch,” Skobov says. “We cover all the bits and pieces involved in taking a product from nothing to production.”
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Law Office Fundamentals
- Type: Course
- Starts: January 2024
- Duration: 10 Weeks
- Where: Online
Are you interested in exploring a career in the legal profession, but unsure if you want to go to law school? Anyone with a high-school diploma and at least a year of any kind of work experience is eligible for our course in Law Office Fundamentals, which offers an excellent opportunity to get exposed to the field.
In this course, experienced legal professionals will guide you in how to analyze and prepare legal documents. You’ll also learn to support attorneys and legal departments in many common aspects of civil and criminal law, such as consultations, negotiations, mediation, litigation, arbitration and more.
“Employers are looking to fill a range of entry-level legal roles, and they want to hire people who understand how a law office works,” says Shelly Langley, owner of Langley Legal Recruiting in Seattle and an advisory board member for the UW Certificate in Paralegal Studies. "Learning the basics in this UW course could help you get your foot in the door and start a legal career with great growth potential."
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Machine Learning Product Management
- Type: Specialization
- Starts: TBD
- Duration: 4 months
- Where: Online
As the enormous popularity of generative AI tools like ChatGPT has shown, products that incorporate artificial intelligence are the next big frontier in technology. This means that effective product managers in this space require specialized knowledge of the field. Enter the UW Specialization in Machine Learning Product Management.
“Product management in machine learning is very different from normal product management,” says Piyu Roy, a program management director who helped create this PCE specialization. “It's a different way of looking at your product. The stack looks very different. The way you build your team looks very different.”
In this four-month program, you’ll learn to evaluate, design and implement machine learning (ML) applications from scratch, as well as within existing products. You’ll also learn best practices for machine learning implementation and create a product launch plan for an original ML project.
Roy notes that now is a great time for tech professionals to upskill for the AI revolution that, in many ways, is already here.
“The curriculum balances the skills required for both traditional machine learning product management and generative AI product management, which allows students to become versatile practitioners,” she says.
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Explore Programs
Check out all our certificates, specializations and courses that start this winter and find a program that is perfect for you.