Adepitan Oriyomi

Why did you decide to do a postgraduate course?

I hoped to enhance my knowledge and skills in artificial Intelligence in order to aid my career progression, having a software development background. I wanted to really scale my skills with emerging technologies and continuously add value to my organisation.

What was the best thing about your course lecturers?

My lecturers have extensive knowledge and practical experience in the field and valuable insights, real-world examples, relevant case studies and enrich the learning experience.

They are really passionate about teaching and genuinely care about their students' progress, this inspired me and motivated me to excel in the course.

How did your postgraduate course differ from your undergraduate studies?

I had my undergraduate studies in electrical electronics engineering from the University of Lagos. My postgraduate studies provided a specialised and in-depth exploration within the AI and data science subject area. The learning environment was more focused and provided me with more opportunities for close interaction with professors and fellow researchers.

Did you have any concerns about studying a postgraduate course?

My major concern was relocating to a new country, leaving behind my family, friends and comfort zone and stepping into a new world entirely different from what I was used to.

My coursemates and lecturers were really welcoming and engaging, and it was really easy to get comfortable when my course started, this really helped overcome most of my concerns.

What’s the most important thing you learned?

My knowledge of unsupervised learning, data classification and model training has proven to be extremely important as I was able to apply it to my current role.

Have your studies helped you with your current role?

Definitely, my organisation recently integrated with an AI solution for order forecast and demand forecast across all stores in the UK, and I am able to lead the team and the effort due to my comfort in AI and model training.

Do you have any advice for anyone thinking of studying a postgraduate course?

It’s a really great opportunity to grow and an investment in your career. A postgraduate in an institution like Solent not only helps you gain confidence but gives you challenging exercises and projects to motivate and expand your horizon. Also, in the workforce a postgraduate qualification is classified as a good milestone to fast-track your career growth.

Tell us a bit about your experience as a postgraduate student?

As an international student, I had to work to pay my fees while studying and preparing for new job roles, hanging out with coursemates and friends.

It was really challenging because sometimes I slept really late due to work and needed to wake up early to attend classes. Nevertheless, the university provided great study support for when I missed some points in class and the library was always available to catch up and research on grey areas not fully understood during lectures.