Math is in Khushee Kapoor's genes.
The Master’s of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (MDSAI) student comes from a long line of math teachers, including grandmothers, grandfathers, and mother. “Ever since I was a little kid, I loved crunching numbers,” she says. For Kapoor, a career in data science is the natural evolution of that family tradition.
Growing up in Mumbai, India, Kapoor was fortunate to have plenty of female mentors and role models in math and computing. The high school teacher who helped her fall in love with coding was a woman, as were the majority of her Data Science professors and administrators during her undergraduate studies at the Manipal Institute of Technology. They motivated her to get involved and strive for high achievement: she joined the Honours program, where she took master’s level coursework on top of her bachelor-level work. She also founded the first ever data science club at her university.
For Kapoor, coming to the University of Waterloo was the logical next step in her career. The unique MDSAI program allowed her to build on the data science foundation she built during her bachelor’s degree while also delving into more advanced AI topics.
“I’ve known I wanted to come here since I was in my second year of my bachelor’s degree,” she said. “I was excited to build on my industry experience through the co-op program, and I was attracted to the curriculum flexibility.” Because the MDSAI program allows students to customize their course load to their interests – and take PhD-level classes – Kapoor has taken courses in autonomous multi agent systems, foundation models, responsible and ethical AI use, and data governance. She also appreciates that she’s been able to use her co-op to continue working to model climate risk at MSCI Inc, where she had interned before beginning the program.
One thing Kapoor was nervous about, but ended up loving? The frigid Canadian winters. “Everyone warned me about how cold it was here, but after a lifetime spent in tropical weather I love it,” she says. “When it snowed for the first time on November 28 I called everyone I knew in India to tell them how beautiful it was!”
Kapoor has worked hard to build academic community in Canada. Inspired by the female mentorship she had throughout her life, including here at the University of Waterloo, she founded Waterloo’s first Women in Data Science club, which brings in industry experts and provides graduate students with professional development opportunities.
She also appreciates the diversity of the MDSAI program overall. “Everyone is super welcoming and supportive,” she says. “Our group has people from so many different countries – China, Ghana, India – and different backgrounds, including industry and academic math and computer science research. Data Science is like a team sport: you need a lot of perspectives!”