I am an SSI alumnus and want to share my experience with this fantastic opportunity for high school students and college students. First of all, I want to introduce myself and my background and tie up the conversation with how SSI had a profound effect on my career choice. I am an international student at the University of British Columbia, Canada from Kazakhstan, who will probably major in either computer science or statistics. I had research experience, with building an AI model during high school, therefore I was more or less aware of what to expect during this wonderful summer course. First of all, I want to say a massive thank you for waiving the tuition fully, as I would not have been able to afford to attend it. Stepping aside, although I had a basic understanding of machine learning, programming, and doing research, SSI taught me to do all of these activities in a sustainable way, in a way that resembles the professional field more than the field of amateurs. More specifically, SSI had the perfect balance of practical knowledge taught by Alex Tsun, a very approachable, concise, and eloquent instructor and Alex Jovcic, who replied to questions during the lectures in a very instant fashion and managed to answer so that they didn’t interrupt the lecture. Programming assignments were challenging enough to the point where I had to spend 2-3 hours every day, and comparing them to my undergraduate assignments, completing my current assignments feels like a walk in the park. Therefore, based on my own experience, SSI I believe that SSI certainly gives more than enough programming, and problem-solving skills to anyone who will input the required amount of work. However, the cherry on the cake was research lectures led, not taught, by Franklyn Wang. For the first few lectures, what he was explaining made absolutely no sense to me, however after thinking and pondering at questions he posed during and after the lectures, I started absolutely enjoying the enriched theoretical content that he taught. Especially I waited for his life lessons, and words of wisdom which held very high moral value with eagerness, every day.
Touching upon the masterclass series in which truly brilliant people in different industries shared their paths towards reaching expertise were so beneficial in keeping my self-esteem at a high level every morning, and I have got to see insights which I still use to rise to the top in my college life.
At the administrative level, SSI organizers were so supportive in accommodating my needs, when I got sick with Covid, that I want to make a shoutout to Sabrina Wong, who immediately allowed to extend the deadline.
However, more than anything else, during 6 intense weeks of SSI, I laid crucial bits of consistent work ethic, I found what my true interests were, and it provided me with so much of a headstart compared to other students at my university, which certainly has eased the difficulties of the online learning system in 2020.
Overall, I am very proud of applying to SSI, and covering all the ground from start to finish with the incredibly talented community SSI represents!