Communication is the only phenomena which is prevalent across all well-engineered solutions

ranging from smartphones and self-driving vehicles to sophisticated military applications like
radars and GPS. With the world progressing towards the Information era, innovation in
communication mediums has transformed phenomenally where the demand for faster, cheaper
and smarter methods became easily accessible. The abundance of relevant data generated and
the well-optimized algorithms used to extrapolate this data, helped extending the existing
capabilities of communication systems to evolve as more personalised and intelligent systems.
Advances in the areas of Perception, Cognition and Action ​lays the foundation for these
systems. To keep up with these advances and a desire to solve challenging problem statements
in Communication, Information Technology was an obvious choice of specialization during my
undergraduate​ ​(UG)​ ​studies​ ​at​ ​the​ ​University​ ​of​ ​Mumbai.

Microsoft Research Labs was then piloting its experimentation on Photobeam which would use
a unique protocol to share photographs on a peer-to-peer basis. This inculcated the germ of an
idea within me to reverse engineer the underpinning processes involved in it. Using the similar
software architecture, I came up with an innovative implementation for problems faced in
peer-to-peer money transfer which I took forth as my UG degree project. To prove my thesis, I
created a prototype using an Android mobile application integrating the ZXing library for
encryption and decryption of messages by generating the QR code which includes the
transaction information to be used as an authentic token in lieu of the currency. More than just
being the state-of-the-art communications protocol, this was a revolutionary breakthrough in
standardizing​ ​the​ ​authentic​ ​exchange​ ​of​ ​information.

While understanding the implications in the study of standards for information exchange,
exploring the latest research in Linguistics was something which intrigued me. Documentation is
one of the integral aspects of any formal communication that takes place between two
individuals in order to share the knowledge and experience. Proper documentation always
forms the crux of various issues in Linguistics as there is no right way of exercising this without
being agnostic of consumer’s educational proficiency. Storyboarding is one of the most
interactive forms of documentation, which breaks the monotony of the documentation activity
and yet keeps the content comprehensive. It was during my research internship program at
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), Lokavidya aimed at being more than just a digital
storyboarding tool; it was used to generate and share knowledge across various platforms. It
was Lokavidya that stood as a true testimony in bridging the gap between various Indian
Languages. The process of content creation & sharing module in the application were quite
hideous, I conducted usability study with existing user base, created user-personas and carried
out heuristic evaluation. Concluding, that language was not the only barrier for using this
application but rather the application laid lesser emphasis on accessibility of various features
which was built to cater to the broader set of target audiences. I created various set of
minimalistic high-fidelity prototypes by conforming to the Google’s Material Design Ideologies.
The success story of the implementation of the early prototypes of these designs resounded a
lot louder than expected as it made the application more delightful and quite lighter than the
earlier versions; thus, I gained foundational expertise in principles of Human-Computer
Interaction and Visual Communication Design. Localization is yet another grave issue in
Linguistics, where major generic Natural Language Processing (NLP) algorithms would fail
because of lack of proper standards in tagging of datasets. Lokavidya would aim to alleviate this
problem by creating a comprehensive repository of content in diverse set of local languages. I
was involved in creating, collaborating and tagging this localized content along with the
Spoken-Tutorial Organization at IITB. This activity was beneficial for generating well categorised
datasets for testing various experiments in ontology to define a standard for taxonomical
hierarchy in the datasets. It was indeed a great retrospective problem to work on, which
broadened my knowledge and understanding of semantics of language and cognitive
psychology.

Post-Internship, I was quite fascinated by the industrial implementations of some of the

advanced NLP and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms. In Modern days, messaging is the most
preferred mode of communication in every millennial’s life. Haptik, Inc. focuses on building
these personalized end-to-end automated solutions (i.e. chatbots) with the niche expertise in the
area of conversational use-cases utilising various ML algorithms. At Haptik, I got the opportunity
to have hands-on experience in building and productionizing some great chatbots for various
use-cases ranging from lead generation to improving engagement & traction. I also got to work
on some well-researched hypotheses and built prototypes for some modules at Haptik ranging
from information extraction & retrieval-based models to integrating the in-house chatbot
framework with some third-party API endpoints like banks, non-profits, etc. In addition to product
development, I spent most of my time wrangling around with humongous chat data that is
generated everyday. This helps me study, analyse and extrapolate the patterns in the user’s
behaviour thereby helping to take some vital business decisions to improve the user-experience
(UX)​ ​of​ ​the​ ​application.

With societies gearing to be transformed as Smart Cities, I believe the prime mission would be
in creating the intelligent communication systems that will not only help these societies to
sustain but will rather help it to flourish as a modern civilization. To achieve a breakthrough in
building these systems, one needs to have a solid grasp over broader range of domains to
improve on the cognitive, perceptive and actuator aspects within these systems. This will ensure
that we are building a cohesive experience, which in turn lays the foundations for furthering the
research in these areas. The heart of proper implementation for above problem statement lies in
a detailed study and analysis of the data generated by the industry and manipulating
trends/patterns within the data to derive knowledge. Despite recording vast amounts of
structured and unstructured datasets, industry and academia lack in carrying out proper
decisions related to various initiatives that are about to release in uncertain situations and
markets. This is mainly due to the reason for mismatch in standardisation of analysis techniques
in academia versus industry, where the former goes in depth and the latter goes by the breadth
of the problem’s schematics. Visualization and Analysis have been the benchmarking
techniques that are much awaited both by the industry and academia for accelerating research
in communications, statistics and operations; thus, standardizing tools, techniques, algorithms
and processes in the above areas are quite crucial. In accordance to this, I foresee myself as a
contributor to this vision by producing novel research in ML, Cognitive Science and Linguistics
either working as an Independent Researcher or in Think Tanks. A specialized education in the
field of Computer Science will help expedite the execution of this vision and also sets the
essential foundations for doctoral studies. This eventually brings me to the National University of
Ireland Galway’s (NUIG) Taught Masters Programme in Computer Science with a focus on Data
Analytics.

The most vital part of the program that interests me is that it has an holistic approach towards
learning various aspects of Data Analytics. The course sets a balanced theme by structuring the
coursework into modules i.e. foundational modules and advanced modules. This helps in
smoother progression towards the advanced-level courses by introducing the foundational
concepts that are essential parts in the study of data science. I am quite keen on studying
Advanced Topics in ML and Information Retrieval, NLP and Data Visualisation; the reason
being that in my prior experiences though I had sound practical knowledge about the
implementations of these subjects, I lacked the sufficient theoretical backing which is integral to
carrying out solid research as per industry standards. The course’s core structure which also
contains a substantial capstone project module will help me to not only grow as a researcher but
also as a social entrepreneur. These are some of the quintessential parts of the program
packed with the academic rigour of NUIG will prove helpful in solving some complex real-world
problem statements. I firmly believe that there is not a single problem that lies specifically to a
single domain, but rather every problem needs expertise from a diverse set of viewpoints which
can only come through the thorough understanding across wide spectrum of domains. Diversity
in approach always brings some better insights of the problem which is beneficial for one to
pivot and seize better opportunities. It also aids in solving the same problem with innovation and
creativity, thereby reducing the fatality of tunnel-visioning in solving the same issue. Hence, I
believe that the program covering the depth and breadth in data analytics along with some
fundamentals of computer sciences and statistics makes it quite unique and blends in well into
my nature of working to come up with a unique conclusion to any problem by testing diverse
hypotheses. Confirming to my long term vision of being a contributor to the smart city revolution,
I would like to be a part of the Galway’s Research Powerhouse - The Insight Center for Data
Analytics. Since NUIG is the host academic partner in this community, embracing the power of
data analytics fundamentals learnt in the program will be a stepping stone towards my dream of
being a part of this research centre and bringing up the much anticipated revolution in the digital
age​ ​for​ ​the​ ​betterment​ ​of​ ​mankind.

Moreover, with NUIG’s distinguished heritage imbibed within every graduate, I am sure to be an
ethical citizen striving for innovation and creating solutions which will accelerate the goodwill of
NUIG. Thus, I am rest assured that my varied background in UX & ML will be a valuable
addition to the cohort and I shall contribute to the teaching-learning process at NUIG. Lastly, I
would like to thank you for patiently sifting through my life and I am looking forward to be a part
of​ ​the​ ​exciting​ ​journey​ ​at​ ​NUIG​ ​for​ ​Fall​ ​term​ ​of​ ​2018!