2023 Pie & AI Ambassador Spotlight: Vikram Mark Radhakrishnan, The Hague
Pie & AI is a series of events organized by DeepLearning.AI, a global community aimed at fostering knowledge sharing and collaboration in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). These events are typically informal gatherings where attendees can network, learn, and engage with others who share a passion for AI, ML, and related technologies.
Why did you join the DeepLearning.AI community as an event ambassador?
During my time as a PhD student, I realized that my biggest professional and personal interests are artificial intelligence and community building. As a PhD student in astronomy, I used to organize communities for astronomy enthusiasts, bringing together scientists, amateur astronomers, and astrophotographers to connect and learn from each other. And, since my research required knowledge of deep learning algorithms, I completed the courses on deep learning and TensorFlow from Deeplearning.AI and subscribed to the newsletter. During that time, I realized that my biggest professional and personal interests are artificial intelligence and community building.
When I learned that I could combine my two passions of AI and community building by becoming an ambassador, I was thrilled! I have spent the past five years organizing events, giving workshops and technical bootcamps, and connecting hundreds of people to build a vibrant and growing community of AI enthusiasts and experts in the Hague.
What do you do when you are not hosting events with DeepLearning.AI
I work as a lecturer in applied data science & artificial intelligence at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. When I am not hosting events, I am busy with teaching undergraduate students, guiding them in their projects, or researching and developing course material.
Outside of work I take part in several sports. I am a competitive powerlifter and I enjoy boxing, kickboxing, bouldering, running, and chess.
Describe a few highlights from your event ambassador experience.
My MeetUp group is the largest AI-focussed community in the city of the Hague, the Netherlands. We have over 1250 members and are still growing. Our events are attended by 100 or more people on average, and our community has an active Slack group. During my time as an ambassador, I have been able to connect job-seekers to companies that hired them and have used my network to find projects for my students.
What have you learned since joining the DeepLearning.AI community?
I have built a tremendous network through the Deeplearning.AI community. I have met and connected with people from all over the world, ranging from tech experts to hobbyists and enthusiasts.
Having this network has also enabled me to find exciting and educational projects for my students to work on, and to provide them with opportunities within the professional world of data science and AI.
Do you have any additional thoughts about Pie A& AI or being part of the community?
Being an ambassador for Deeplearning.AI has been very beneficial for my current role as a lecturer. I have been able to make use of my network to learn more about the topics that I teach, I can easily keep up to date on most AI topics, and I can easily find projects for my students.
Do you want to become a Pie & AI Ambassador?