At INSAID, we create accomplished and empowered Data Leaders. We groom our students to dominate the world of Data Science and AI and reshape their future. We value what our students bring to the table. We share their vision and support them during their journey and ensure that they carve a niche for themselves.
We’re proud to have tutored exceptional students all across India. Today, one such exceptional student, Ankit Nigam stands in the spotlight.
Student Name: Ankit Nigam
Current Organization: Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.
Batch: GCDAI – August 2019
Total years of experience: 10 years
Malvika: Hi Ankit, before we begin, could you tell us more about your current work profile and your career trajectory so far?
Ankit: So I joined Wipro, Hyderabad as a fresher, 10 years ago.
I started working with multiple domains, starting from Mac-Office implementation. Three years later, I moved to my hometown Delhi where I joined Fidelity Information Services as a Technical Lead working in the payments domain.
I joined as a Software Engineer in payments and gradually moved to being a Technical Lead heading a team of 5 developers. My current role today is interacting and getting the requirement from the client, providing technical designs for those requirements to the team to work upon, providing technical inputs and relaying fixes to the client.
Malvika: What all tools and packages in Data Science & Machine Learning have you mastered in your Data Science & AI program at INSAID so far?
Ankit: So we’re done with the basics of Python. I’ve mastered some Python packages like NumPy, Pandas. Matplotlib, Seaborn, and some select Machine Learning algorithms from Scikit Learn that we learned during the Machine Learning Foundation class just last week.
Malvika: What are some of the initial challenges you faced when you got started on your Data Science journey and how did you overcome it?
Ankit: I struggled with Time Management the most during my initial few days.
I was spending 13 hours at work and commute and the weekend time was not enough for my progress. There were assignments, quizzes and projects piling up over my self-study hours.
The projects I undertook helped me with better time management. Another issue was keeping up with Python. Now I do have exposure with different languages C++, Java, and they might be similar from a logic perspective but they are very different from the syntax perspective.
So a lot of practice did go in learning Python as well but I overcame that challenge too. Over time, I just focused on enjoying what I’m learning and things fell into place.
Malvika: What is the goal of Data Science?
Ankit: The goal of Data Science would be to rally the data in a structured format and to study it to provide meaningful insights for the business.
In our payments domain, we have to look out for fraudulent customers and recurring customers.
Malvika: What current trends in Data Science & AI do you see becoming very big in coming years?
Ankit: We can mix AI with IoT and blockchain.
I was reading an article in a newspaper that said that Jim Corbett National Park is using AI to stop the tiger poaching. With the help of a US-based company, they’re using sensors in the sensitive areas of the forest to deploy facial recognition.
So that is an IoT technique combined with Artificial Intelligence which is being used as an application.
Malvika: Which are some of the blogs that you follow?
Ankit: Yes, I follow Medium regularly.
I follow towardsdatascience and Analytics Vidhya for the latest trends and developments.
I read a lot about statistics from Data Science Central.
Malvika: INSAID’s mission is to Groom Data Leaders of tomorrow. What do you understand by a Data Leader? And how is a Data Leader different from a Data Scientist?
Ankit: Data Scientist is someone who reads the data and provides insights based on his findings.
A Data Leader is less conventional. He goes beyond the regular practice and understands the latest developments in the field and how they can fit into his organization. Another important point is that as a Leader, they need to motivate people into being more productive team members.
Malvika: Crafting a great Data Science resume is a critical part of getting shortlisted for Data Science roles. Tell us some ways in which you have improved your resume as part of Data Science Career Launchpad.
Ankit: Based on those sessions I re-worked my resume.
I created a master resume followed by many revisions. Based on the inputs received from INSAID, I made many improvements and finally shaped a concise resume to my satisfaction.
Malvika: Thank you for your time, Ankit. All the best for your future!
