Courses

As a strong believer in continuous learning and development, I have completed several Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to enhance my skills and knowledge in various areas. These courses have provided me with valuable insights and practical experience, allowing me to stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and industry trends.

By continuously investing in my personal and professional growth through MOOCs, I strive to stay ahead of the curve and expand my expertise in various domains.

Below are some of the MOOCs I have successfully completed, along with a brief summary and the outcomes achieved. These have complemented my formal education, of a Masters of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh, and a PhD in computing science at the University of Glasgow.

I also produced a MOOC in 2023 with Dr Cano Reyes and BonsAPPs.

2023

• Google Project Management specialization: This certification program comprised of six modules over six months. Although I have gained significant experienced in managing projects during my time at gicLAB, as well as my other professional endeavours, I felt that re-familiarising myself with the terminology and best practices of the field would serve me well. Outcomes: I was able to apply these skills for developing grant proposals during my time at gicLAB. For example, I was instrumental in developing gicLAB’s contribution to the dAIedge consortium application to the EU, which was awarded over 14 million euros. I applied techniques from the course to ensure that our planned contributions were achievable and well document. I elected to not continue with a post-doc with gicLAB, and thus had to plan out the project in more detail for a new start. This required me translating a lot of my institutional and project knowledge into additional documentation to help them. For example, a stakeholder management plan, and a more detailed task breakdown.

• GPU Programming Specialization: This four course certification program comprised of four modules. Although I have gained significant experienced in working with GPUs over the past few years, completing a PhD in Compiler-centric Across-stack Deep Learning Acceleration, it has been a while since I’ve worked with several aspects of GPU programming directly — after all I’ve been trying automate this using tensor compilers! With some spare time over the winter break, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to refresh myself on the core concepts. It also provided an opportunity to use some tools/libraries that I hadn’t had occasion to use before (e.g., cuFFT, compute-santizer, Thrust). The final project was an opportunity to make something that interested me. I elected to implement the attention mechanism from scratch, with a few implementations, including hand-written kernels with varying configurations and leveraging cuBLAS.

2022

• Data Ethics, AI and Responsible Innovation: This course explored ethical considerations in the development and implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. I learned about the potential risks and impacts of AI technologies and gained insights into responsible AI innovation.

• BonsAPPs: Accelerated deployment of DNNs on edge devices: This course focused on deploying deep neural networks (DNNs) on edge devices, using the BonsAPPs CI/CD pipeline. I gained practical knowledge in optimising DNNs for efficient inference on resource-constrained devices and converting between DNN frameworks. Using these tools I published a case study at the AccML 2022 workshop at HiPEAC.

2019

• Software Product Management Specialization: This six course specialization provided me with a comprehensive understanding of the principles and best practices for effective software product management. I gained skills in developing product strategies, conducting market research, and managing product lifecycle. The course finished with a peer reviewed capstone project, where I scoped out a simulated project, and managed it to completion. I have been able to successfully apply and develop these principles to real projects in my career.

2018

• Deep Learning Specialization: This five course specialization focused on deep learning techniques and their applications, and complemented the machine learning courses I completed at the University of Edinburgh. I gained hands-on experience in implementing deep learning algorithms, as well as a deeper understanding of the underlying math. These fundamental concepts aided me significantly, with my PhD topic being centred around Deep Learning.

• IP Law and Policy: This course introduced me to the fundamentals of intellectual property (IP) law and its role in fostering innovation. I gained insights into IP rights and protection, patent law, copyright law, and trademark law, and strive to be aware of these issues when working in various organisations, consulting with internal legal teams when appropriate.

• Intro to DevOps: Transforming and Improving Operations: This course provided an overview of DevOps practices and principles for improving software development and operations. I learned about continuous integration, continuous delivery, and the benefits of automation in software development. These principles of reproducible workflows greatly influenced me, with it being a significant part of my research visit at the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre in 2019. In 2023, I also co-developed a MOOC about applying these principles to deep learning projects.

• Understanding the GDPR: This course provided a comprehensive introduction to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and its implications for businesses. I gained a solid understanding of GDPR principles, data protection rights, and the responsibilities of data controllers and processors, and strive to be aware of these issues in the organisations I work for.