Priyadarshini Majumdar
Master of IT in Business (Analytics)
Graduation Class of 2018
CEO & Co-Founder, ExploreMaps
About two years ago I graduated with a degree in Engineering from NUS, specialized in photonics and optics. This lead me to the role of a process engineer at Lumileds (a spin-off of Phillips Lighting), a company that manufactured LED lights. Life as a process engineer was less of “lights” per say and more of understanding data. The power of data and the insights gained baffled me and I was inspired to learn more. I decided to join MITB as a master’s student to further improve my knowledge in the field of analytics.
Little did I know then that my one year in MITB would be much more than just a masters course. It was more like a transformation. Back in Engineering, most of my understanding was built on the microscopic level of the physical world around us. I understood things in their “nano-level”. My world then was filled with photons, electrons, protons and Heisenberg’s principle and it was fantastic knowing them. In SMU, I was taught their application. Here I understood IT systems and their intricate link with data. How different algorithms work to categorize data points and bring out meaning. This knowledge was the other end of the spectrum. IT depends primarily on n -p junctions and just being able to link the two fields of knowledge sort of completed me or rather I’d say “gave me the aha! moments”.
When I look back, three things stand out the most in MITB: Professors, the internship, and the people in MITB. Professors in MITB aren’t just teachers who impart their knowledge, but they come with a package full of experiences. Many have held very prestigious positions in different companies and they share with you stories about how things are in the industry today: the good and the things that can be made better. These pieces of information are like gold that help you refine the understanding the industry and help yourself pitch better to your employers. The internship was my second-best experience. I was attached with SGX in their Fintech and Data team for a period of six months and in these six months I have had the closest encounter with data. I picked up two different programming languages and began to understand Financial Markets. This experience coupled with the courses taught in MITB made things complete. I remember there was a time when I was learning Big Data. I was sitting in the first row trying to imbibe everything Mr. Rithin Mathur was saying. What he was saying was fantastic and I remember being extremely attentive. The next day was my first day at SGX and my supervisor handed me their data store architecture and I could relate everything with what I had learned in Big Data. Of course, the architectures were different, but I could look at it and question why certain things were designed in that way and ask them about their failover strategy. It started there and in the next six months I had learned so much! Lastly the people who make MITB happen : the committee and administrative staff. I am always amazed how course contents change so fast and they are always keeping up with the market. It’s almost like they use agile methodology when design their courses and pitch! Haha.
I had started looking for jobs when I was in SGX. I leveraged my knowledge of financial markets and my newly developed programming skills to secure a position at Nielsen +Partner as a junior consultant. Nielsen +Partner is a German IT consulting firm that implements and customizes software for Private Banks. So my life until now after MITB has been quite exciting. I worked with two different banks on wildly different projects. I have pitched some ideas to their internal “idea lab” and developed an application on R shiny (MITB visual analytics for the win!) and all of this in just three months! The best thing about being in this company (apart from new challenges everyday) is that you feel responsible for the company like it’s your own – A feeling that’s quite rare in my experience.
For those who are considering MITB, its quite an uphill battle. If you are from the IT background, it might be a little less steep but there is effort to be put. In the end however the knowledge, understanding and confidence gained is beautiful and immensely satisfying. Here is what I tell my juniors when I meet them “You’re in for a roller coaster ride, but you will first survive it (because I did!) and then you will fall in love with it.”
