Testimonial Simina Dragotă

Background

During my Aerospace Engineering studies, I chose to pursue a minor in 'Engineering with AI'. I hoped to advance my programming skills and gain a deeper understanding of how AI algorithms are developed and what their implications are. I was thrilled to accomplish these goals by the end of the minor. It gave me a completely new perspective on Artificial Intelligence and equipped me with valuable skills that I can carry forward into my studies and future career.

My experience in the minor

During the first quarter, I took three courses that were designed to bring everyone up to the same level in Python programming and provide an introduction to Machine Learning and AI from both technological and societal perspectives. The 'Intermediate Python Programming' course greatly improved my Python skills and instilled a problem-solving mindset in me that I’ve applied in numerous projects and courses since then. I especially appreciated the fact that it thought me how to apply key programming principles beyond standard exam problems.

The lectures in the course 'Machine Learning and Introduction to AI' focused on conceptual understanding of several Machine Learning algorithms. By the end of the course, I was pleased with my ability to apply these algorithms during a final assignment together with a partner and critically discuss their limitations. Additionally, through the course 'Introduction to Responsible AI Engineering' I had the opportunity to step back from the technical side and consider the societal impact of technological advancements in Artificial Intelligence. I enjoyed this course because it encouraged me to develop my own views on the ethical challenges posed by these technologies and provided the opportunity to hear different perspectives through open group discussions.

During the second quarter, I took two courses: ‘Deep Learning’ and ‘Natural Language Processing’. These covered different aspects of AI, introducing neural networks and the working principles of large language models. These courses also delved deeper into the mathematics and theory behind the concepts, making certain aspects quite challenging. Luckily, the more difficult concepts were clearly explained and reinforced with various methods, which was very helpful.

The quarter concluded with the opportunity to work in a team and apply everything that was taught in the minor during the ‘Capstone Project’. The projects available in this course were very diverse; I personally wanted to explore a topic outside my field of study which made the experience both more challenging and exciting for me. This project highlighted the broad applicability of AI across different fields and showed me that the methods learned during the minor are universal.

Looking forward

Completing the minor sparked my interest to further explore AI and its various applications. My programming skills improved significantly, and I became more confident in my abilities. The methods I learned in this minor are versatile and can be applied across many fields. Therefore, I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their programming skills and explore the wide range of AI possibilities, regardless of their field of study.