“The flexibility of the Data Science program and the reputation that the university holds was what primarily drew me to study Data Science at Penn.”
Contact Information: sashankv@seas.upenn.edu
Degree(s) M.S.E. in Data Science, University of Pennsylvania
Hometown: Mumbai, India
Which field of Data Science are you interested in?
Data Analytics | Machine Learning
What drew you to study Data Science at Penn?
The flexibility of the Data Science program and the reputation that the university holds was what primarily drew me to study Data Science at Penn.
What are some classes that you have particularly enjoyed and why?
I have particularly enjoyed taking ESE542 (Statistics for Data Science) and STAT535 (Time Series Analysis). The statistics class was a good refresher of the concepts I learnt in undergrad. It even went on to teach quite a few concepts I had never learnt before that were useful to me in tech interviews. I particularly enjoyed taking STAT535, because all of the concepts that were needed to complete the assignments were taught from the ground up in the course.
What internships have you had? If you know your post graduation plans, please include here.
I have had Data Analytics internships at Reliance (Mumbai, India) and Deloitte (Mumbai, India) previously. One of the most interesting projects I have worked on during my time there has certainly been Explainable AI. I will be working as a Data Analytics Engineer at MarketAxess over the summer in New York.
What advice do you have for new students?
I would strongly advice new incoming students to plan the workload of the courses they would be taking in each semester. A nice resource to look up the amount of work that would be required for each course here at Penn is penncoursereview[dot]com. The website also has reviews of the course offerings from previous semesters. Things you would want to take into account while planning workload for the upcoming semester are — how much time you would require to prepare for interviews, apply for internship positions, settling down in a new city, time you would need to attend social events and form meaningful friendships.
What classes have you taken?
Share a little bit about yourself.
I love going on runs and treks over the weekends. I also enjoy playing Frisbee, Tennis and Badminton. I’ll never say no to going out to grab food and drinks.