Porikroma desk : Jointly organized by the NSU School of Health Science and the University of North Carolina (UNC), Chapel Hill, USA, a certificate course titled "Analytics & Machine Learning Techniques for Maternal and Health Interventions" was held at the NSU campus on 17 July, 2023. The event aimed to explore the applications of machine learning in improving maternal healthcare and brought together renowned experts and professionals in the field.

The lead speaker at the event was Dr. Javed Mostafa, an eminent Professor at the University of North Carolina and the Director of the Carolina Health Informatics Program. Dr. Mostafa emphasized using machine learning to predict pregnancy risks, enabling early counseling to prevent untoward incidents. He highlighted the importance of effectively feeding vast data to use machine learning tools. Drawing attention to the US healthcare system for pregnant women, Dr. Mostafa noted that Bangladesh needs to develop proper data banking on health issues to establish health informatics that can significantly contribute to better care for pregnant women through machine learning. He further suggested that the correct utilization of machine learning tools can help improve the maternal death rate in Bangladesh.

During an interactive session, Mr. Kibria from UNC demonstrated a machine learning pipeline using cloud computing, showcasing the practical application of these technologies. This demonstration underscored the potential of cloud-based data management in healthcare and addressed privacy concerns.

Dr. Hasan Mahmud Reza, the Dean of the School of Health and Life Sciences, highlighted the importance of machine learning in healthcare in Bangladesh. He expressed concern about the shortage of qualified doctors in the country, leading to inadequate care for rural pregnant women. Dr. Reza suggested that using machine learning could play a significant role in improving maternal health in Bangladesh.

Mr. Shamim Ahmed, CEO of InNeed Intelligent Cloud, emphasized the significance of cloud-based data management and privacy issues in the context of machine learning applications.

Senior faculty members from NSU and public health experts attended the day-long event. The program was skillfully moderated by Nibras and Razmin from UNC, ensuring a fruitful learning experience for all the participants.