Deepak, A Master’s in Sociology and Data Analytics student at the University of Limerick and a UL Global Student Ambassador summarises the journey of his career and the experiences which led him to UL.
September has always been my favourite month as it opened my life to new beginnings. Both the beginning of my career and university started this month! I started my career on September 5th, 2016, in a Software company where I started programming to interpret real-world data without much knowledge in this field. It was a steep learning curve for me and my accomplishments in the early 20s resulted in overconfidence early on. I learnt the value of humility by falling headfirst in a few situations in my corporate life. During this phase of my life, Dr Brijesh Madhavan, a treasure trove of data science knowledge, served as an inspiration to me with the humility he exuded. He encouraged me and supported my move to Bangalore, the vibrant city in India where my actual journey began.
It was a defining moment for me when I moved to a Tier 1 city, where I met people from different backgrounds and talents. The turning point was when Ms Afreen Aman introduced me to the idea of domain-centric AI. I started embracing my purpose in the world of data. Afreen helped me understand how domain knowledge could be embedded into data-centric AI development.
It gave me a sense of pride and happiness that my work had become more meaningful and impactful. I started learning more about the field of Environmental and Natural assets and how I could solve more real-life problems using the power of AI. My collaboration with Ms Afreen showed me the power of collaboration and how it could change our perceptions and the way we structure our thoughts around something. I gained my sense of purpose and during this time I started Podcasting where I connected with people from the Sustainability and data science space, communicating and sharing ideas with the world. I could feel the shift from a theoretical viewpoint to practical thinking after conversing with different Industry leaders, practitioners, and sustainability experts.
Things started ramping up when I started collaborating with the researcher Dr Shaina Raza from Toronto on a few research projects on News and Media Bias and how AI technology could mitigate them and that’s when I published my first research paper. Then I collaborated with Afreen to come up with papers on AI in Environmental Due Diligence and was able to create Python libraries and Open-source models. Along with working as a data scientist, I was extending my time to research by collaborating with many like-minded individuals. But this resulted in a downside, I started extending my hours and ignoring my health, family, and friends. I would wake up at 5:30 a.m. and work late at night. It took a toll on my emotional wellbeing. The only highlight was visiting my friends and that was not too frequent. I realised that I needed a break from what I was doing. But I was not ready to compromise on my job, research, podcasting, and my dreams.
After months of thought and discussions with my friends, I came up with the idea of having a balanced approach by going back to Academia where I could continue what I was doing, but in a different and more organized setting. Since I was a big fan of the “Vikings” and “The Last Kingdom” series I had a special inclination towards countries like Norway, Ireland, and UK. I started my research on the course offerings and came across the courses offered by the University of Limerick, the combination of “Sociology and Data” really caught my attention. UL has two interesting Podcast channels: “Research Impact” and “UL Connect”. The Research Impact podcast channel features different research projects and initiatives from the UL. These podcasts helped me make my decision to apply to the university for higher studies and research. The campus’s natural surroundings, stunning Shannon River, and greenery all played a role in the decision. I made up my mind and packed my bags.
On September 04th 2023, I started a new academic life along with my job in Dublin, my ongoing research, and my dreams. And here I am now, happy about everything that happened in my life.
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