My Graduation 2020!

Today I graduate with a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, The University of Texas at Dallas.

Two amazing and challenging years of grad school culminated to this day, which has equipped me to take on more challenges in the future. I am extremely grateful for the experiences I have had at UTD and been taught by an extremely dedicated and inspirational team of faculty. I would like to especially mention and thank Prof. Mithun Balakrishna, Prof. Arthur Redfern, Prof. Gautam Kunapuli, Prof. Anurag Nagar for their dedication and efforts. They have been highly motivating and it was a blessing to have studied under their guidance.

My journey started with the thought that in this ever-changing world, we need to continuously look for superior future capabilities and work towards inventions and innovative uses of existing technologies for improving human lives. Therefore, I wanted to gain more technical knowledge and skills through graduate education and contribute more value to the marketplace using cutting-edge technology in the industry. 

Comprehending how Artificial-Intelligence has blossomed as a product of the contemporary 'Data-Age', its seemingly limitless scope prompts the need to make humankind both utilize and adapt to it. With that in mind, through my graduate studies, I specialized in Intelligent systems, particularly augmenting my skills in Big Data Analysis, Machine Learning, and Natural Language Processing. I have worked on a variety of projects in these fields focussing on gaining knowledge out of data that can be analyzed for finding solutions to uplift the standards of human-life through Intelligent-Systems. Some of the topics I recently worked on are Information Retrieval, Knowledge acquisition, Sentiment Analysis, and Chatbots for Question-Answering and personal assistance.

The COVID-19 pandemic established a ground to work on a Sentiment Analysis project, where I explored how people are reacting and talking about the pandemic online. The analysis revealed mixed, but slightly optimistic sentiments suggesting that people are concerned about hospitalizations, deaths, and the measures to deal with it. Such analyses can give an insight into the short-term and long-term needs of improving human lives during crises.

Another of the recent projects that I am still working on is developing a personal assistant chatbot that is both rule-based and self-learning with Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing algorithms.

Following three years of work experience as a System Engineer at IBM GBS, I got the opportunity to work in the industry as a Software Developer and Data Engineer through internships at Copart and Tesla during my graduate education, which I consider as steppingstones towards my goal. Adding to that, I have honed my skills through academic classroom work and multiple side projects that I have undertaken.

I want to stress the fact that the availability of a wide range of programs at UT Dallas furnishes the scope of interdisciplinary collaboration and promises a powerful learning experience. It helped me pursue an in-depth integrated study with my prior knowledge and work experience in diverse sectors. In addition to academics, I have also developed a network of strong and lasting relationships with teachers and fellow students.

Now, I look forward to working in the industry and giving back to the community using my expertise.

There's no secret on how to attain a greater height, just keep climbing..., don't look at the dreadful distance, lock up that negative thought today, and fulfill your dreams

~ Michael Bassey