Maher Sebai joined the Applied MSc in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence programme in autumn 2018.
In 2004, he graduated from the Université de Carthage, in Tunis, and since then, he worked for various blue chips semiconductor companies, where he acted as a Presilicon Verification Engineer hunting circuit bugs before it goes for mass production.
Today, Maher is Senior Design Verification Engineer at Intel Mobile Communications.
In this interview, he talks about his career change and his goals.
Why did you choose data science?
My former company was promoting internally their effort to win the Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence silicon acceleration market. I got exposed to their product vision and found it fascinating. My research regarding these techniques led me to discover Data Science. I had this desire to leave my decade-long comfort zone and tackle challenging problems coming from various horizons.
What advice would you give to people who are hesitating about changing career to
data science?
First of all, it is necessary to demystify what Data Science is. There are countless online resources on Data Science and it is often exhausting. Whether it’s out of curiosity or a serious motivation, you can find quality materials. It’s just a matter of choosing the learning path that suits you best. I chose DSTI not only because of the quality of the programmes, but also because I could interact with my classmates and teachers.