by Babra Wani
SRINAGAR: Hanan Gani, a resident of North Kashmir’s Baramulla district, has brought laurels to his name by graduating with a master’s degree from the world’s first AI university based in Dubai.
“I did my initial schooling at BPS and senior high school at St Joseph’s Higher Secondary School. I have been passionate about technology since childhood,” Hanan said.
Hanan completed his B Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering from NIT Srinagar. “During my last year of undergrad, I also spent some time at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and did research there on an AI-based disguised facial recognition system, which we later published.”
After completing his undergraduate studies, he transitioned to industry and worked as a machine learning engineer at Samsung India. However, due to a knack for academia and research, he left Samsung after two years and joined the world’s first AI university, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in the UAE, where he recently graduated with a master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence with a machine learning specialization.
“My interest in artificial intelligence and machine learning began during my undergraduate years, coinciding with a rapid surge in these technologies,” he said. “My curiosity led me to explore how AI works and the underlying principles. To build a strong foundation, I took online courses from top universities and conducted research at IISc.”
The math and computational courses at NIT Srinagar helped Hanan solidify his understanding. “I realised the transformative potential of AI in various everyday applications, such as facial recognition, email automation, biometrics, security, autonomous driving, chatbots, and in medicine. This motivated me to delve deeper into the field.”
However, getting into the university was a task too. “While applying for graduate studies, I discovered the newly inaugurated AI university in Abu Dhabi, featuring a distinguished governing body with members from MIT, Oxford, and Michigan State, etc. The curriculum and faculty profile excited me.”
Hanan, who had a master’s offer from the University of Southern California (USC), decided to decline it. “I declined the USC offer and initially joined MBZUAI as a researcher. After 10 months, I transitioned into the master’s programme. During my master’s, I studied AI with a special focus on machine learning. Machine learning deals more with the theoretical aspects of Artificial Intelligence. During my time at MBZUAI, I pursued research in multi-modal and generative learning. In simple words, my research involved how the intersection of visual and language features can help learning in AI, similar to how humans can perceive and understand things through sight and reading. I had the privilege of publishing my research in top AI conferences: NeurIPS, ICLR, MICCAI, BMVC, etc.”
Hanan found the university environment highly conducive to research, with diverse and talented individuals from various backgrounds. The curriculum was flexible, focusing on student needs, and the research facilities were outstanding. “We had access to an extensive GPU cluster for running AI algorithms, supported by the university and our supervisors.”
However, Hanan encountered his own share of struggles and challenges. “AI research is highly competitive and requires significant effort and dedication. The rapid pace of advancements in the field can be overwhelming, and there is constant pressure to keep up with the latest developments. Competing with tech giants like Google, Meta, OpenAI, and Microsoft adds to the challenge. Additionally, being away from home and family can be difficult. However, I believe these challenges are an essential part of the journey.”
MBZUAI offers Master’s and PhD programmes in five AI specialisations: Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, Robotics, and Computer Science. Applicants must choose a specific specialisation during the application process. The process includes submitting previous degree transcripts, a CV, letters of recommendation, and a statement of purpose. Candidates must pass an online exam containing maths, coding, and AI-based questions. If successful, they will be invited for an interview, which is the final stage of the admission process. For the master’s programme, this interview will be a managerial/introductory interview, and for the PhD, the interview will be more technical. The admission has become tough over the years. “However, MBZUAI encourages diversity, and I would recommend every student interested in AI to apply,” he added.
According to Hanan, AI is poised to revolutionise the education sector. Introducing coding and basic AI courses across all degree programmes can provide students with essential knowledge about the technology shaping their world. Innovations like ChatGPT-4V, with its audio-visual capabilities, have already been tested by renowned educators for classroom teaching. The future may see a reduced need for traditional teachers as AI continues to advance. “Maybe we wouldn’t need teachers in the future to teach. And I am looking forward to continuing my research journey in AI and maybe pursuing a PhD in this field.”
