What are you doing right now?

I currently work as a Data Scientist with MoneyTap Pvt Ltd, a fin-tech startup that gives out personal unsecured loans. At MoneyTap, I’ve worked on multiple projects ranging from targeted marketing, credit scoring, fraud detection, and repayment prediction.

‍Area of interest

My current areas of interest lie within the vast world of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and more specifically, its varied applications in the finance industry.

Why did you first sign up with Univ.AI?

I’d already been working with MoneyTap for a couple of years when I first came across Univ.AI’s foundation program. Even though I’d worked on a few ML projects before, I felt that I needed a more in-depth understanding of the concepts I was already working with. I was also extremely excited to learn those concepts from Harvard & UCLA professors live, so I signed up with Univ.AI immediately. 

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

Thanks to the wonderful learning experience I had with Univ.AI, I was able to take on more challenging projects at work that I probably wouldn’t have before. But more importantly, it has made me more confident about my abilities and skills as a Data Scientist. I was impressed by the team so much that I decided to keep in touch with Univ.AI and help Prof. Rahul Dave as a teaching Assistant.

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

One should spend enough time to understand their data thoroughly. Explore data in detail, visualize various aspects of it to get an intuitive understanding. Do this before starting to apply a complicated ML algorithm right off the bat. This is something that I do extensively for all my projects and the advice I give to my juniors too because that streamlines the process because once you start applying these algorithms, it’s really difficult to go back and forth and modify the initial problem statement.

What surprised you about the course?

When I heard that the course was being taught by reputed Harvard and UCLA professors, I was already expecting the teaching to be incredibly good. And while the teaching was undeniably excellent, what stood out to me was the fact that the Univ.AI team took extra time to help the students with general career advice as well.

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

Yes definitely. I’ve seen more projects come my way at work. I also act as a consultant for a few small start-ups that want to get the most out of the data they have. Univ.AI has helped me understand how to grasp things quickly and because of that, I’m able to constantly update my knowledge and be better prepared.

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

You are being taught by world-class professors from Harvard and UCLA. Make the most of it and never hesitate to ask doubts. Always keep asking because that’s how you learn!

Any final thoughts or recommendations about the course?

There are a lot of online courses now that teach AI and ML – some good, some not so good. I’ve taken a few of them as well. But I’d recommend Univ.AI to anyone anytime simply because of the superb support system and the qualified faculty guidance that you get here. You simply don’t want to miss out on a ‘Harvard-like’ experience!