Interview with Data Science alumnus, Matthias Galipaud

Could you introduce yourself? What were you doing before the Data Science Bootcamp at Constructor Academy and what are you doing now?

“Hi, I'm Matthias. I'm a Biologist by training, starting with a bachelor's followed by a master's and a Ph.D. in the field. After completing my studies, I began working as a Researcher. During all that time I used a lot of Statistics, which was very beneficial when I first started working with Machine Learning techniques. Besides traditional Statistics, which was the one thing missing in my toolbox and that's why I was really happy to have joined the Bootcamp of Constructor Academy. Right after the Bootcamp, I found a Data Science position through the network from the program. Now I'm at Urban Data Lab which is a startup looking at how to use spatial data to help clients with their business decisions.
 

What does it take to be a Constructor Academy student?

“At first, I did not expect a lot from the Bootcamp. Already a few weeks into the program, however, I started to realize that it was the right decision and that I would learn a great deal in these intense 3 months. For some, it might be a little frightening to see how many topics we go through during the Bootcamp but as long as you're interested in a few of them, then those are the ones that you'll be mostly focusing on afterwards and there's plenty of time to come back to the topics you did not really follow during the Bootcamp.”
 

How did you experience the capstone project phase?

“Initially, I was quite interested in applying to the Data Science program not necessarily related to finding a career in the industry but instead applying what I learned to academic research. That's why I thought I’d go for a Capstone project that was in collaboration with a university. The teachers at SIT Academy suggested something more industry-based that would help me get more practical experience in the domain. I really don't regret working on such a project. The topic was actually really interesting and I ended up using quite advanced NLP techniques to tackle the various challenges need to complete the project.”
 

What are you working on now?

“Right now, I am continuing to work on small personal projects related to Machine and Deep Learning just because I really enjoy these concepts! I also want to fill my git profile with a couple of projects, since I think that's an important thing nowadays to find jobs in Data Science.”

Thanks a lot for the interview, Matthias. We wish you all the best for your professional and private future.