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Postgraduate study

Student views

Suraj Verma

MSc Data Science (with Advanced Practice)

The University is involved in many national and international research projects so there were opportunities to develop myself as a researcher.

Suraj Verma

Why study in the UK?

I could see the potential to advance my career. UK universities are respected worldwide and renowned for research and innovation in IT and healthcare, which is my field of interest.

Why Teesside?

The course has an internship option so I could implement the theory I’d learnt. Also the University is involved in many national and international research projects so there were opportunities to develop myself as a researcher.

Why data science?

I’m interested in data analysis, visualisation and machine learning, and there’s a big demand for people in the field. I learn how to handle large datasets, analyse and visualise data, and implement artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to solve real-world big data problems.

Best thing about the course?

I enjoy learning about data mining, exploring best practices for data analysis, pre-processing and data pattern recognition, as well as how to perform different kinds of research.

What work experience have you gained?

I worked on a funded project as a research assistant, developing a mathematical model to understand the spread and transmission of contagious paediatric diseases. The findings were published as a research article in the journal Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine. We also developed a deep learning architecture to diagnose Hand, Foot and Mouth from an image and clinical dataset in a mobile app. The findings were published in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers journal.

Alongside this I’m working as a student ambassador on the Digital Skills for Growth project, which is funded by European Social Fund.

What skills have you learnt?

Professional skills like data handling, data analysis and visualisation, as well as data mining and machine learning to analyse, predict and classify clinical datasets. I’ve also learnt about the research process, from topic selection to performing a literature search, developing a deep learning model, writing a research article, and publishing it.

Tell us about the University

There are lots of extracurricular activities to help you meet new people and the Students’ Union offers great support for international students coming to a new country, they gave me a guided tour of the town.

The Student Futures team help you look for and secure a job – from guidance on constructing a CV to mock interviews. The Library has so many learning materials and it’s open 24/7.

Tell us about Middlesbrough and the region

It’s really peaceful and has lots of shops, restaurants, cinemas, pubs, clubs, sports and museums. Nearby towns and cities like Durham, Newcastle and Darlington are nice for days out.

Future ambitions?

I’d like to undertake a PhD in computational biology, specialising in cancer detection, diagnosis and prognosis using machine learning, statistics and biological information. And then go on to work in healthcare artificial intelligence, combining my interests in software engineering and data science.

What advice would you give to others?

Set high personal and academic standards and live up to them. Focus on your studies and keep learning every day.

Would you recommend Teesside University?

Definitely, they’ll help you get a good degree and advance your career.

 
 
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