Data Science Institute
Shengyang Zhang
Please describe any relevant past experience
I had a lot of student organization experience. I was president of the professional business fraternity of Delta Sigma Pi, Rho Sigma chapter. Before that, I was the leader of finance and IT department. I managed and played critical role in our professional, community service, and brotherhood activities. I also had experience working with the Professional Fraternity Council in my college as representative of my fraternity. Now I am a part of Data Science Student Council here.
What are your goals/vision for your committees of choice? How do you think you can contribute to them?
After I talked to a lot of students from my department, I realized the biggest demand of them for now is to find a job or internship. I want to work on this and try to bring more opportunities for my department as well as all Engineering students.
Any other relevant information you would like to share
I am from a party school, and I am very chill and social.
Arman Uygur
Please describe any relevant past experience
In my undergraduate institution, I was the department representative for 2 years (for Mech. Engineering) for the Dean's Engineering Council. We organized events such as Engineering Week (geared towards prospective engineering high school students and freshman) and discussed issues that each department encountered on campus.
What are your goals/vision for your committees of choice? How do you think you can contribute to them?
I would like to focus on career development and interschool collaboration with the Data Science Institute. I believe there are a lot of things necessary in order to strengthen the new Data Science program since we lack as much alumni as other departments. Organizing both networking events and workshops to promote data science among all other engineering departments (collaborating with DSSC) would be my primary goal.
Amla Srivastava
Please describe any relevant past experience
I have previously held several student leadership positions as listed below: - Student Head, Alumni Affairs Committee, PEC University of Technology, Chandigarh (Aug 2014-May 2015) - Head, Public Relations, PECFEST 2014 – annual cultural festival of PEC University of Technology, Chandigarh (Nov 2014) - Joint Head, Public Relations and Event Coordination, VYOM 2014 – annual technical festival of PEC University of Technology, Chandigarh (Mar 2014) - Executive Body Member, Entrepreneurship Development Cell, PEC University of Technology, Chandigarh (Aug 2014-May 2015) - Assistant School Pupil Leader (Vice-Captain), Carmel Convent School, Chandigarh (Apr 2010-Mar 2011)
What are your goals/vision for your committees of choice? How do you think you can contribute to them?
Alumni Affairs: My goal as part of the Alumni Affairs committee is to help strengthen ties with Columbia's vast alumni network. Both current students and alumni can benefit from greater interaction through alumni meets, networking socials, organized talks, one-on-one interactions, etc. A more cohesive alumni network will help current students find mentors to guide them and help the alumni to find students for prospective jobs, internship positions; provide a way for them to continue to benefit from association with their alma mater as well as allow them to contribute to the growth of Columbia. I can contribute as I have previous experience in managing Alumni affairs for my undergraduate institution where I led a team of 40+ students to improve and build the alumni network through organized lectures/talks, multiple alumni meets and alumni visits. Also as part of the Data Science Institute, I would like to invite our department alumni to be more strongly connected not just with DSI but with Columbia as a whole as data science is an upcoming field with a lot of interdisciplinary relevance. Academic Affairs: As part of the Academic Affairs Committee and as a department representative, I wish to understand how academic administration is managed so that problems faced by students pertaining to curriculum, examinations, grading, etc, can be rightly addressed. There are often several suggestions and feedback that peers and seniors have relating to academic affairs, which could make a big difference in the academic life of students as a whole if they can go through the proper channels and be addressed correctly in time. I would like to bring forward feedback from my peers and be actively involved with change implementation as part of the committee. Career Development: As part of the Career Development committee, I wish to act as a link between my department and EGSC so that there can be mutual benefit from collaboration. I would like to bring to the table both the problems DSI faces and the solutions we have come up with in terms of career development. Despite lots of provisions, I feel that there should be more field-specific career development opportunities for students and that there should be a mechanism so that interested students are able to take advantage of all opportunities on campus that may interest them, even if they are not aligned with a particular department or group. More collaboration amongst departments will help significantly in the students' career development.