Foundations of AI for Marine Applications:
A CISMaRT Professional Short Course Series
March 13, 2026
Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel
This short course provides a high-level overview of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) fundamentals, with a focus on how they can be applied in the engineering/marine industry.
It will clarify key concepts, introduce common algorithms, emphasize the importance of data, and discuss examples of AI in engineering and maritime contexts. The goal is to give participants enough understanding to identify AI opportunities in marine engineering and operations, without delving into excessive theory.
Speaker
Dr. Randy Giffen
Solution Architect
IBM Canada
Randy Giffen is a healthcare solutions architect and a member of the IBM Canada Innovation Team. He has 25 years of experience in software development from coding to senior management and 12 years of experience in patient care including 6 years of general practice. He has conducted academic research in both computer science and healthcare and has 7 US Patents for invention. He is an adjunct Professor at the University of Ottawa.
He is currently assigned to the Center for Analytics Informatics and Research at Memorial University. His research interests include the use of predictive analytics and machine learning in the context of clinical care. He is also working on solutions to support behavior change for healthy living.
Previously, he developed software systems for predictive maintenance, enterprise connectivity, and process management. Prior to that he worked on the Eclipse project, which created a widely used open source tool for software development.
Before joining IBM, Randy was a general practice physician in Nova Scotia and also conducted medical informatics research at the Open University in the UK.
