Moderna Launches AI Academy for All Employees

We have several “Mindsets” at Moderna that define how we work, make decisions and build the best version of our company. Two of these Mindsets are “obsess over learning” and “digitize everywhere possible.” They come together like a well-fit jigsaw puzzle with the introduction of our Artificial Intelligence (AI) Academy, an immersive learning experience for all Moderna employees.

Today, we announced the launch of Moderna’s AI Academy in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). The AI Academy is intended to educate and empower employees at all levels to identify and integrate AI and machine learning solutions into every Moderna system and process to bring mRNA medicines to patients.

Moderna has an opportunity to scale intelligently—using digitization, automation and AI to turbo-charge what humans can accomplish to maximize our impact on patients. To this end, we have seen first-hand how AI can accelerate development programs, automate key systems, and drive collaboration across our organization.

Most recently, we saw our investment in AI technology, machine learning and a fully digital, cloud-based and highly automated manufacturing site help speed development of our COVID-19 vaccine when every day counted. In just 42 days from sequence identification, we released and shipped our first batch of our mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 for a Phase 1 clinical trial.

As the number and scope of our clinical trials have increased, we have leveraged data and predictive models to help them run more equitably and efficiently. By using U.S. and Canadian census data to compare enrollment demographics with demographics of the areas surrounding clinical trial sites, we helped ensure that our trials included communities of color and reflected our diverse society. 

We recognize the number of potential AI applications are infinite. To help our 2,400 team members apply AI and focus on work that really matters, we are making a massive investment in their development at scale with the AI Academy.

The breadth and depth of the AI Academy’s content and its application will set it apart from similar initiatives. CMU’s interactive educational platform that supports both in-person and online learning will deliver a tailored curriculum structured for working professionals and is focused on topics including data quality and data visualization, statistical thinking and models, machine learning algorithms and AI ethics.

I am excited to partner with CMU, a decades-long leader in the field of AI learning, to deliver this novel curriculum to all our employees—not just our executives. It’s an untraditional approach that will help us push past possible and tackle some of the world’s greatest health challenges.

Our first cohort of participants will start the program next week, and I cannot wait to see the puzzle pieces come together after months of planning, iterating and testing to build this truly unique learning experience. I am confident the AI Academy will bring us new opportunities to get smarter and innovate faster—it’s the perfect combination of digital technology, obsessive learning and unparalleled human intellect.