Techie Stories: Laura Grabowski’s Journey on exploring Data Science while doing a Ph.D. in Biotechnology
In this article, we hear about the experience of our Techie Laura Grabowski who studied the Data Science track. Read on to find out why it is important to try something new even though you are already an expert in another field!
TechLabs Marketing (Abhishek): Thanks for taking the time for this interview Laura, can you give us a brief introduction about yourself and also your previous coding experience?
Laura Grabowski: I studied my Master's in Biotechnology at RWTH Aachen and graduated in 2019. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D. at the Forschungszentrum Jülich in the field of Biocatalysis. I don’t really recall having any aspect of coding being incorporated in my study program per se but one could always gain experience in computational fields through research internships.
But at the same time we are always hearing how important it is to learn to code. In my opinion, it is always good to seek opportunities and to learn a new skill.
TechLabs Marketing: How did you come across TechLabs?
Laura Grabowski: I was already familiar with DataCamp and had tried doing some of the freely available courses. The main problem was that you could never find anyone with whom you could discuss some problems or interact while learning. Around the same time a friend of mine recommended TechLabs to me. I thought that TechLabs would make my learning experience better as they stressed on the aspect of “Community” in the Digital Shaper Program that they were offering. I would say that this was one of the major factors that influenced me to apply for the Data Science track.
TechLabs Marketing: How was the Track Phase?
Laura Grabowski: In my experience I really liked the Track phase as I could find all the relevant coursework being put together in a very nice way. The various Notebooks helped to apply what was learnt in the courses and to practice well. I also think they prepared me well for the project phase. I guess that I did not need any additional learning apart from the ones already learned in the Track Phase.
TechLabs Marketing: How was your experience with the Project Brainstorming Day?
Laura Grabowski: I did not submit any of my own ideas but I really felt that the list of ideas proposed already was very interesting just by reading the titles. The Brainstorming Day in itself was like a whole project with so many activities going on involving so many people and so many ideas. It was challenging to break down the core idea into workable objectives by questioning what is possible and what is not. Overall I don’t think there was any lack of motivation, enthusiasm and creativity during the ideation session.
TechLabs Marketing: Can you tell us more about the project that you are working on?
Laura Grabowski: We are working with data from the AVV Aachen i.e. the public transportation system in Aachen. They provide a lot of open datasets including different routes and other parameters. We were looking to see if we can find some interesting trends or discover some insights or correlations. The bus transport system was something that we have all been using regularly as students, so finding patterns on operations during peak hours, holidays and so on was what we aimed at.
Unfortunately, we soon realized that we had access to only scheduled data and not real-time data which only covered the last four years. This meant that the amount of insights that we could extract was very limited. But, we also started to look into other datasets such as the Aachen population with the idea to finally visualize the parameters of population together with the bus routes.
(You can read the Project report here)
TechLabs Marketing: How was your overall experience being a Techie?
Laura Grabowski: If I think about the core experience, it was very diverse. Apart from the intended path of learning to code, you also pick up valuable skills such as team communication and task management. The Git workshop which was organized along with the many speaker events just added to the multi-layered program.
I certainly had to be aware of the great time requirements of our project phase which was not always easy. But I made sure to stay on track and not lose focus. The course ran for one full semester so it fit more perfectly for me rather than the other Bootcamp that is offered for a shorter time.
I enjoyed a lot meeting people from different backgrounds and nationalities. The mentor talks were one of a kind and inspiring as it was fascinating to listen to all the different fields where Data Science and Artificial Intelligence are being applied to find solutions to real-world problems.
I am also looking forward to the Project Pitch day to see how the other ideas have progressed and also to learn from them.
TechLabs Marketing: To wind up, what drives you Laura?
Laura Grabowski: That’s a really good question. What drives me is to try to always learn something more and new. Because when you are doing your Ph.D. you will be focussing on a very specialized field. But for yourself personally, you need to keep learning and exploring. This is also very important for your future career and personal development. You need to always keep in mind that you are never done learning things even though you are an expert in another field already.
I always feel that something fresh and new is always motivating and sparks some new interest to keep going forward!
Inspired by Laura’s journey and looking for a platform to start learning to code? Then apply for our Digital Shaper program!
