Hoi Fai Yu (Ryan)
Artificial Intelligence Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert)
Testimonial
January 2022 intake
Please could you begin by introducing yourself?
My name is Hoi Fai Yu (also known as Ryan), I come from Hong Kong and moved to the UK in April 2022. I’m currently studying an online Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Leeds.
Why did you choose to study a Postgraduate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence?
I’m looking to enter the Artificial Intelligence industry and become either a Data Scientist or Machine Learning Engineer. But before that, and in order to do so, I’m hoping to gain some formal qualifications in this area to demonstrate my ability to employers during job interviews. My end goal is to get a job with a reputable company in the UK.
Why did you choose to study this course online rather than in-person?
If I chose an in-person course, then I’d need to travel quite a lot which would take me a lot of time, whereas online I can study from anywhere I want. The online course gives me great flexibility and even if I work during the day, I can study the course in the morning, evening, or at the weekend. I didn’t want to study in a fixed schedule so I think the best thing about this course is that I can study at my own pace.
What have you found most interesting on the course so far?
Learning how to design a good algorithm and evaluate if it is efficient and effective is the most interesting session that I’ve been a part of. I also enjoy understanding various artificial intelligence algorithms and their natures; I find this fascinating. I’ve studied two modules so far, the first was Algorithms, and the second was Programming for Data Science, which is more practical. In the industry, most Data Scientists need to use Python to visualise and process their data, so this has been really interesting to explore as well.
If you could pick out one key moment that has made you feel either most proud or happy that you decided to study the course, what would it be?
I believe it would be passing the first module with a good grade. It shows that if you work hard, you can achieve a good result and it gave me a really good sense of achievement.
Would you recommend this course to other students and if so, why?
Yes, I would definitely recommend this course. I believe it is a good entry point for anyone who wants to understand the role of artificial intelligence and help to prepare themselves for any kind of job interview in the data science industry.
How do you think the Postgraduate Certificate will help with your long-term career progression?
I believe this course will give me a good overall understanding of what artificial intelligence is and the basic techniques that I need to know. I think it’s important to prepare me for interviews for future jobs and help develop my career.
Why did you choose to study with the University of Leeds in particular?
I chose to study online with the University of Leeds because of its good reputation. It is a Russell Group university and is ranked 15 in the UK according to the QS World University Ranking 2023.
How did you find the application process?
I applied for the course online, and with the support of Leeds Enrolment Advisors, I was able to enrol onto the course. I found the Enrolment Advisors helpful once I’d made my application; they sent me an email inviting me to a consultation call which took about 30 minutes, in which they explained the entry requirements and answered all of the specific questions I had about the course.
Could you tell us a little more about other support you’ve received from the University so far?
Once I enrolled on the course, I was assigned a Student Success Advisor who helped to keep track of my progress and reminded me of any course registration and assignment deadlines. This was useful when I was very busy!
And you are learning from a range of leading academics at the School of Computing – how helpful have they been to your studies so far?
Really helpful – the lecturers in the online webinars will interact with us and answer the questions that we raise throughout the session which has helped to clarify queries with AI learning tools, techniques and algorithm problems.
If you could give one piece of advice to someone who is considering studying a Postgraduate Certificate with the University of Leeds, what would it be?
I would say that it’s important to study in your own time as much as possible and to try to attend the online classes as frequently as you can. It can really help to understand the various AI learning tools and techniques and you can have your questions answered by the academics.