My Desire To Become A Part Of The Hot Field Of Data Science

The omnipresence of technology, from digital communications to underwater wireless transmissions, is a testament to the fact that the voluminous amount of data gets generated every second. This data is a driving as well as a defining force behind an infinite number of crucial decisions being taken this very minute. Such an avalanche of data and its impact on a variety of businesses triggers my belief that the demand for data-savvy professionals in businesses, public agencies, and nonprofits would be growing in the coming years. What is even more interesting is that two out of every three job requiring data analysis skills go unfilled due to a lack of people with the right skills. Hence the need of the hour demands to collect, analyze and interpret this data for better business operations and opportunities. My desire to acquire the right skills for becoming a part of this hot field is the catalyst that drives me to pursue an MS in CS degree program with a concentration in ‘Data Science’. With this, I will have the specific analytic talent and operational skills to develop computing systems and software in order to identify patterns and regularities and make predictions in data of all sorts.

After earning my MS in CS with a specialization in data analytics, I see myself as a data scientist applying appropriate statistical analysis and machine learning techniques to mine information from the data which will help businesses to make proactive, knowledge-driven decisions. My undergraduate studies provided an exposure to a multifaceted curriculum, thus lying sound foundation for my plans for graduate studies. I gained an in-depth knowledge of calculus and statistical analysis through multiple courses in Applied Mathematics. Also, the courses in Data Structure, Analysis and Design of Algorithms and Data Mining and Business Intelligence helped me develop critical thinking and problem-solving attitude. During the tenure of my undergraduate studies, I gained expertise in programming with C, C++, Java, and Python and also actively participated in coding competitions on CodeChef and HackerRank platforms. Having a keen interest in exploring Having completed courses on Python, R programming, Machine learning, deep learning, etc. at Coursera, Udemy, and other online learning sites, I have attained a sure foothold on my technical skills.

I believe that the best way to master a subject is by doing projects, which gives me, not only a deeper understanding of the subject but also gain hands-on practical experiences. One of my starting projects was developing an online website for Blood Bank which provides a simplified, speedy aid to users who are in an urgent need for blood. This project was built using Hibernate framework, JavaScript and Ajax. User’s details were stored in the MySQL database. This project gave me my first brush with database functionalities and enhanced my skills in programming. Currently, I am working on my senior year project which is based on Machine Learning, titled ‘Blind vision intelligence’ in which camera and sensor are used to collect data from the environment which will be sent to the server for further processing. Real-time object detection with the help of Convolutional Neural Network is done and the processed data will be converted to the sound using Text-to-speech library and sound will be transmitted to the user via headphones. I was selected in International Experience Program (IEP-2018) funded by Gujarat Technological University (GTU) and was hosted by Laurentian University located in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, which gave me an opportunity of studying two subjects – Wireless Communication and Mobile Programming and Web Data Management. We also worked on a project on ‘Expense Tracker’ android application which allows a user to maintain a digital automated diary. It will keep track of income-expense of a user on day to day basis.

I have also engaged in various extra-curricular activities which helped in developing my overall personality. I have been a part of the organizing team and successfully managed many technical and non-technical events, held at a state level with the participation of more than 2, 000 students from different colleges. Due to my innovative thought-process and technical skills, I managed to get selected in the group of tech-fest website design. Through creative website graphics, we were able to attract significant online traffic and registrations. Being a part of the fest developed in me a sense of responsibility, pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me develop leadership skills.

I have also been an active member of the National Service Scheme (NSS) under which I have organized many other activities in college. All of these greatly contributed to enhance my leadership qualities, social tactics, and overall personality development.