COI: What is your current major, degree plan, and professional concentration?

Haritha: I'm pursing my fulltime master’s in data science. And my professional concentration is on machine learning and artificial intelligence. 

COI: Why did you apply for this scholarship and what made you think you were a good match for it?

Haritha: I would like to expand my skillset and get more in-depth knowledge with an advanced level of understanding. So, I want to upskill myself by doing professional certifications to accumulate new ranges of abilities and technical aptitude in a refined global and assorted setting.  I have found this scholarship adds value in providing me the necessary support in achieving my goals. Adding to it, I have an outstanding academic excellence with GPA of 4.0, which qualified me for the LISC Excellence scholarship. 

COI: What are some highlights of your time in the program so far? Do you want to shout out to any specific courses or professors who have helped you along the way?

Haritha: My present program about data sciences has made me ready to comprehend data innovation more. I would like to highlight that the project work which I have done so far in my courses - took me closer to my objectives in understanding the data science concepts at a deeper level with hands-on experience. It enhanced my critical and logical thinking in problem solving.  

I would like to highlight specifically INFO 5505, which taught me the advanced topics of machine learning and the guidance and expertise from Professor Mohammed Aledhari helped me a lot in my academics. The opportunities provided by him made me research some of the topics, like bagging in the machine learning space at a deeper level. 
 
COI: What are your career plans after graduation?

Haritha: My aspiration is apparent; I want to become a computer professional and put my talents to optimal use. I had always envisioned a career that involves creativity, innovation, and flexibility to work in any situation. After graduating, I'm interested in working on new high-quality next-generation data applications which utilize machine learning systems. I aim to apply my knowledge in Social Networks and the Medical sector to make people's lives easier.  

COI: Can you share any big successes you’ve had or obstacles you’ve overcome?

Haritha: As a sophomore during my undergraduate, I got plenty of opportunities to explore technologies like IoT, Blockchain apart from my curriculum, which made me realize that I thoroughly enjoy learning new technologies and understanding the systems. My curriculum of Data Structures, Theory of Computation, Probability & Statistics, and cloud computing laid solid foundations for my analytical and mathematical basics in computer science. And, when I started as an analyst at Capgemini post-graduation, I developed web applications and databases. Also, I used to analyze and create multiple reports. That made me automate those report creations, which reduced the generation time as well as generating various insights by performing EDA to understand the data and make better decisions. It was the starting point for my love of data. I started exploring RPA tools and the basics of Machine Learning. 
During this time, I worked on a project, which was to forecast the in and out-patients flow in the hospitals based on the analysis of various factors like climate, past data, holidays, which helps the management to get ready for unforeseen situations. I want to explore the data and contribute much to the medical sector.  Because of these experiences, I took up a master’s in data science course to expand my skillset and get more in-depth knowledge with an advanced level of understanding.

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