Narinder Kaur: joined The Data Lab MSc programme in September 2019, undertaking an MSc in Big Data Technologies at Glasgow Caledonian University. In the summer of 2020, she undertook a remote Industrial Placement at Hymans Robertson.
I first came across The Data Lab through a bold advertisement which left me wondering what this innovation centre was about. When I was accepted for an MSc in Big Data Technologies at Glasgow Caledonian University in September 2019, I didn’t expect the scholarship to include not just a full fee scholarship but also many opportunities to attend career changing events. From the initial Launch event, through employability skills workshops and a week-long design thinking innovation and data challenge event, I was able to gain skills in additional to the technical skills learned on my MSc course, which have helped me progress further within my field of AI and data science.
My MSc and data science placement continued remotely
Undoubtedly, the pandemic affected most aspects of wellbeing and education. However, The Data Lab programme continued on-line and this helped keep me stay motivated and focused on my data science career. I was able to undertake a remote Industrial Placement during June 2020 at Hymans Robertson. As a Data Scientist Intern, I worked on a real-life data problem, Employee Attrition, where statistical visualisation outputs and machine learning models were developed to identify insights to support overall employee happiness.
Gaining more experience in data science projects with The Data Lab
After obtaining my MSc degree in September 2020, I joined the data science team at The Data Lab working with the Principal Data Scientist Joanna McKenzie. This experience was a dream come true! As part of my role, along with client work, I had responsibility for managing two data projects with very different data centred objectives. The first, for an electrical engineering company, required the building of a database to store data for a cost prediction algorithm. The second project involved recommending a data analytics strategy for an organisation which utilises games to support social economic factors such as climate change.
My manager, Joanna McKenzie, was a huge inspiration to me, demonstrating so many skills and technologies and supporting my data science and personal growth. Joanna is just one example of the many strong female roles at The Data Lab. I would describe Gillian Docherty, CEO of The Data Lab as the light of the organisation. Gillian made me extremely welcome and valued during my time there and I feel this shows that The Data Lab demonstrates its place at the heart of improving Scotland’s AI and Data Science strategies for the better.
Currently, I am pursuing my career in Artificial Intelligence for Precision Medicine, which is a joint Medical Research Council PhD opportunity with Glasgow University and The University of Edinburgh. I would like to thank The Data Lab for the fantastic opportunity which has given me invaluable experience in the industry and incredible amounts of personal growth.
Thank you The Data Lab!