What are you doing right now?

I am a third-year undergraduate student in Mathematics and Computing at IIT-BHU. Shortly after the Univ.AI workshop, I started working with a startup in music-space to create playlists and song-recommendations using AI. I also worked on extracting an energy-metric of a song using deep learning. Apart from this, I have also worked on deep generative modeling as part of my exploratory project.

Area of interest

I hold chief interest in using deep learning for audio applications and generative modeling.

‍Why did you first sign up with Univ.AI?

I first signed up for the Univ.AI’s 15-day live workshop in Bangalore in 2018. I signed up purely because of the professors’ credentials and was impressed by their work and knowledge. I am happy to say that I was not disappointed. 

What role has Univ.AI played in your learning journey in Data Science and AI?

Univ.AI has played a major role in my journey to learn AI. I signed up as a beginner for the workshop and knew nothing about AI. However, I believe that helped me as I paid a lot of attention and asked lots of questions. Attending the knowledgeable lectures by Rahul, Pavlos, and Achuta,and interacting with them helped me pick up topics quickly. In 15 days, I learned a lot ranging from the basics to deep convolutional nets and basics of generative modeling. It also made it easy to learn other AI topics.

‍If you had to share just one thing that you learned in the course, what would it be?

I would say it is, “It is okay to not know everything”. You don’t have to be an expert in everything before you start training and experimenting with machine learning models. It has often happened in the workshop that we started training models in the lab sessions without understanding them completely. I would say it's important to have an inquisitive and open mind to gain in-depth knowledge about any topic.

‍What surprised you about the course?

I was really surprised with how well the course managed to pack everything in this short period. At the end of it, I had proper in-depth knowledge about most topics which was unusual given the short duration. Another aspect was having knowledgeable peers helped in picking up pace.

Have you seen new opportunities as a result of the course? Do you feel better equipped for new opportunities?

Yes! I was able to take up a machine learning internship in a startup just months after this workshop. I was able to work on proper real-world models with full confidence. I was also able to interact with my colleagues and seniors in a better fashion because I had adequate knowledge about the field.

What advice would you give to a new Univ.AI student?

My advice to new Univ.AI students would be four pronged. Firstly, come with an open mind and be ready to unlearn some things if necessary. Secondly, come with a clear vision of what you want to accomplish with this course. Thirdly, expect some parts of the course to be intensive and set up proper time commitments before joining. And finally, do not be afraid to ask doubts and interact with all the professors apart from the class too. These interactions are encouraged here.

‍Any final thoughts or recommendations about the course?

I am thankful to the Univ.AI team for making this possible and to the professors for this great learning experience