Class of 2020

Swapil Paliwal.

Swapil Paliwal

“This is an excellent program, in an amazing location. The MDS-O program provides an exceptional foundation in the areas of data science.”

Previous Degree: Master’s Degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Washington, Seattle
Program: MDS Okanagan, Class of 2020

I have always had an interest in multidisciplinary fields which allow for collaborative work, and have applications in variety of areas. Data science is one such field and being able to see its wide impacts in almost all walks of life really got me ...

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Cari Gostic

Cari Gostic

“I’m finishing the program with confidence that I can pick up on new platforms, languages, methodologies, and frameworks on the fly.”  

Previous Degree: Bachelor of Science in Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University
Previous Experience: Analyst, Consulting Team, Risk Management Solutions (RMS)
Program: MDS Vancouver, Class of 2020

I decided to pursue data science because it combines everything I like about research -- uncovering insights, the thrill of discovery, working with new and interesting data -- but is extensible across all ...

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Alistair Clark

Alistair Clark

“I chose the MDS program as a way to quickly build the skills and credibility I needed to transition into data science. I could have tried to build these skills while working at my previous company, but that would have taken longer and would have made it difficult to break into the job market.”

Previous Degree: Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, Queen's University in Kingston, ON
Prior Experience: Lead Product Developer and Head of Product, I Will Teach/GrowthLab and Management Consultant at Accenture Strategy
Program: MDS Vancouver, Class of 2020

At the startup I worked for prior to MDS, I was facing big questions around our product and market strategy. We had plenty of data from ...

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Rob Blumberg

Rob Blumberg

“There are so many smart and friendly people from different educational and cultural backgrounds in MDS, which makes learning and collaborating so much easier.”

Previous Degree: Bachelor of Science in Physics, McGill University
Previous Experience: Data Science Intern, BMO Financial Group
Program: MDS Vancouver, Class of 2020

It was around my third year of undergrad that I started hearing and learning more about data science. My first real encounter with data science came through my passion for soccer, as I discovered articles and blog posts explaining how ...

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Toshiko Shibano MDS Computational Linguistics

Toshiko Shibano

“If you are like me and enjoy devising solutions to real world problems, have a desire to transfer knowledge and skills from a previous job to the digitized world, or are passionate about language, this program is worth the money and time.”

Previous Degree: Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, University of British Columbia
Prior Experience: Executive Vice President, Senior Translator and Programmer, Simulingual Inc.
Program: MDS Computational Linguistics, Class of 2020

“If you are like me and enjoy devising solutions to real world problems, have a desire to transfer knowledge and skills from a previous job to the digitized world, or are ...

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Niki Hajmoshir MDS Computational Linguistics

Niki Hajmoshir

“What I really like about this program is that we get more hands-on experience and work with data sets and corpora so when we go into industry we won’t be lost because we know how to handle these things.”

Previous Degree: Bachelor's in Medical Laboratory Science, University of British Columbia
Program: MDS Computational Linguistics, Class of 2020

Everything I am learning in MDS CL, from coding to statistics to Natural Language Processing is all interesting, relevant and applicable to what we've seen every day in the world. It makes you think how I can use this in my life and I like how the ...

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Aaron Tian MDS Computational Linguistics

Aaron Tian

“The biggest benefit you get coming into this program is you get to work with a lot of people with different backgrounds, in terms of the fields they come from, and who tend to approach the same question from different angles.”

Previous Degree: Master of Science in Computational Finance, DePaul University
Program: MDS Computational Linguistics, Class of 2020

With MDS CL, the data science courses are very essential to becoming a computational linguist. The program gives us a solid foundation for us to use our linguistics skills and put them into practice.

About Aaron Tian

Originally from China, Aaron has a Master of Science ...

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Christian Hluchy

Christian Hluchy

“The smaller cohort in the Okanagan makes it more personable and it makes me feel more connected to the program."

Previous Degree: Master's of Business Administration, University of British Columbia
Program: MDS Okanagan, Class of 2020

While I was born and raised in Kelowna, I always knew I wanted to pursue an education in a different city. After obtaining my undergraduate degree from the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus, I worked for seven years before returning to UBC, where I obtained my ...

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Elizaveta Volkova

Elizaveta Volkova

"Everyone in the program has different backgrounds, which is terrific because we get to see and hear different perspectives, but there is also a sense of community as everyone is willing to help each other."

Previous Degree: Bachelor’s Business Information Systems, Bauman Moscow State Technical University
Program: MDS Okanagan, Class of 2020

While managing a system that collected vast amounts of data for a company I worked with in Moscow, I came to the realization that our customers would be interested in accurate predictions of both their revenue and future customers. This prompted a personal interest ...

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Kaitlyn Hobbs

Kaitlyn Hobbs

“UBC MDS Okanagan offers intimate class sizes and specialized professors that motivate participation, networking, and rapid skill development.”

Previous Degree: Bachelor of Medical Sciences Degree with an Honors Specialization in Biochemistry, Western University's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
Program: MDS Okanagan, Class of 2020

[While completing my undergraduate studies], I was lucky to land myself in dry labs, where I found myself enjoying statistical analysis and introductory-level programming. I wanted to elevate my ...

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