March 25, 2025
The future of technology is being shaped by innovative minds who are pushing the boundaries of AI—and the latest graduates from our Practical Utilization of AI for IT, Programming, and Development stream are no exception. This stream, part of our AI Microcredential Program offered in collaboration with St. FX University, equips participants with the skills to develop, deploy, and fine-tune AI models in real-world scenarios.
We’re excited to spotlight two of our top graduates, Joseph Orji and Alexei Bissonnette, who have demonstrated exceptional technical expertise, creative problem-solving, and a passion for leveraging AI to drive meaningful impact.
Joseph Orji (He/Him)
AI for IT, Programming, and Development
Joseph Orji, one of the top graduates of the AI Microcredential program’s IT stream, is a shining example of where technical excellence and creative problem-solving can meet. As a Programmer Analyst with the Reproductive Care Program of Nova Scotia, Joseph plays a critical role in developing and managing software systems that support public health. His passion for technology, paired with a natural inclination toward abstract thinking, has long defined his academic and professional journey. It was this same mindset that guided his award-winning Master’s thesis during his postgraduate studies in Computer Science at Dalhousie University, and what made him stand out in the AI Microcredential program.
Joseph’s enthusiasm for AI is deeply rooted in its capacity to amplify human potential. As one of the early adopters of OpenAI’s API in late 2022, he built a digital empathic friend to help tackle loneliness during his academic journey, a project that was both personally meaningful and technically innovative. That experience sparked a desire to go beyond surface-level use and explore the mechanics of AI systems from the ground up.
“AI has become the most enabling technology for my natural abilities in problem-solving and abstract reasoning. I’ve always wanted to move beyond being just a user and instead understand how these systems work, build them, and optimize them,” Joseph shared.
Participating in the AI Microcredential program allowed Joseph to pursue that ambition in a structured, hands-on environment. He especially appreciated the practical approach of the IT stream, which ran from January to March and included asynchronous work with Kaggle notebooks and pre-trained models. This gave him the flexibility to learn at his own pace while applying advanced concepts in real-world scenarios.
Reflecting on his favourite aspect of the course, Joseph noted the technical depth of working with Large Language Models (LLMs):
“I can confidently deploy and use AI models on-premises, and work through the full process of LLM fine-tuning—from data cleaning and tokenization to hyperparameter tuning.”
The program sharpened Joseph’s technical proficiency in areas such as model deployment, data processing, and optimization strategies. These are skills that he is now integrating into his professional toolkit. His expanded capabilities have positioned him to approach challenges at work with a fresh perspective, equipped to design smarter, AI-driven solutions that improve both efficiency and outcomes.
Looking ahead, Joseph aspires to become a Solution Architect focused on building AI-powered systems that address real-world problems. With a strong foundation in both theory and practice, he envisions a future where his ideas take shape through intelligent technologies that make a tangible impact.
“AI is the future, and with my natural ability for problem-solving and abstract thinking, I believe there’s no limit to the solutions I can build.”
Joseph welcomes conversations and collaboration opportunities with professionals in AI, software development, and digital health.
He can be reached through his LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-orji/.
Alexei Bissonnette (He/Him)
AI for IT, Programming, and Development 
Alexei Bissonnette, a standout graduate of the AI Microcredential program’s IT stream, brings a thoughtful and well-rounded perspective to the world of development. With a strong academic background in mathematics and science, Alexei has always been fascinated by how these disciplines intersect with technology. For him, AI and machine learning represent a natural convergence of his interests, areas he had explored independently for years before joining the program. “I’ve studied key concepts of ML and AI throughout the years, but never in a structured and formal way like the course given by DNS,” he explained.
“There is a big difference between understanding something enough to be able to have a conversation about it, and being able to actually implement it in real-life projects. I saw the program as the key to bridging that gap.”
Alexei’s curiosity about AI was driven by a desire to understand what powers today’s most advanced tools. With the field of computer science evolving rapidly, he saw an opportunity to deepen his knowledge of machine learning theory and LLM architecture while also learning how to bring these models to life in his own development work.
One of the elements he valued most was the thoughtful structure of the course.
“AI is an incredibly complex field, and covering it thoroughly in just over 20 hours of teaching is impossible. The instructors deliberately introduced as many concepts as possible without diving too deep into every detail, encouraging students to explore those details independently. Because of this, I felt like I gained far more from the course than one would typically expect from a 20-hour program.”
Among the technical topics covered, fine-tuning stood out as a personal highlight.
“It’s incredible how a model that initially knows nothing about a field can become specialized in it simply by training on a well-defined dataset,” Alexei said. “Even more impressive? You can likely fine-tune the model on your own computer if you have a GPU!”
Through the program, Alexei developed a strong mix of theoretical and applied skills. He now feels confident selecting appropriate models, preparing data, fine-tuning and optimizing workflows. These are capabilities he is already putting to use in his work supporting client solutions.
“I’ve gained both theoretical and practical skills from the AI Microcredential course,” he said. “With these skills, my company will be better equipped to help clients with more specific or custom AI needs.”
In the future, Alexei is excited by the potential of combining traditional software development with AI integration. His vision is to build smarter, more adaptable applications that are capable of tackling complex challenges in dynamic environments.
“By leveraging AI, these applications can become more intelligent, efficient, and capable of solving complex problems,” he shared.
Alexei is happy to connect with others interested in building the future of AI-powered software.
He can be reached via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexei-bissonnette-9aa38a23a/ or by email at alexei@nucleusstrategie.com.