GRAD ECHO

Regarding building your portfolio, I’d like to request you to first pick a sport. As an exercise or training that you do everyday. Now let me tell you why. If you pick a profession or field which requires you to sit everyday, enclosed in a space, sometimes up to 17-18 hours a day, your mental and physical capacities will begin to decline. Many people start developing mental health issues, they go into depression or develop physical issues. You might graduate with a 3.97 but would it have been worth it if you also graduate with a lifelong backbone problem? This is honestly the first piece of advice I give to all my students, and something me and my colleagues also practice. Pick a game or physical activity that you like and stick to it.

Secondly, I would like to emphasize that one thing that is very hard to recover or improve is your GPA. I am not saying that a high GPA is a hard prerequisite for admission. There are countless examples of students with very low GPAs that have made into some of the most brilliant institutes worldwide. Dr. Ihsan, Dr. Zafar and myself have advised and mentored several students who fall in this category. However, It does become very difficult with a low GPA. Students often have to do some outstanding work in other components to counteract a low GPA. While of course, GPAs are relative and in some universities it is much harder to get the same GPA, you should aim for a number close to 3.5 or above. This is a decent enough number to make you competitive and you should try to remain above this number. Even if you have a lower GPA right now, you can still touch this number or come close with requisite effort in your remaining courses.

Regarding the competition in ML: As someone who teaches and conducts workshops in the field of ML and generative AI, I want you to know that the industry is still in the ‘euphoria’ phase of it all. Many companies that make LLMs for example, are realizing that a primary bottleneck is going to be network bandwidth and there is going to be a subsequent boom in Network-centered solutions too. We are still in the phase where we do not fully realize the complete repercussions of these developments. Similarly, security is going to be a big issue moving forward. ChatGPT for example, sometimes shares URLs mistakenly which leave the user prone to comm-injection attacks.Furthermore, bots are only as good as the interface they are embedded into and its level of engagement with the user, meaning HCI is also going to be essential to this boom. So rest assured, all fields are going to remain relevant in their own unique way and you should follow your passion. Conduct a small mental exercise with me. If you were at a bus stop, and you needed to go to a particular destination but all buses leading to that destination were full, you wouldn’t pick just any other random bus now would you? In a very similar manner, please do not apply to programs you think are easier to get into, but are actually not passionately invested in. You are in your prime and at the peak of your learning ability. It would be a grave mistake to believe you can later on switch easily into your relevant field after you have graduated or settled into a specific industry. I believe that if getting admitted is harder now, it is going to be even more difficult to switch fields later on, given how competitive the arena is now. Follow what you like, and the path to success will follow you too. Be good at what you do, and you will always have plenty of opportunities in terms of admissions, funding and jobs.

Australia and New Zealand share a similar admissions process with the UK, where PhD programs typically span three years. In contrast, PhD programs in the US and Canada often require 5-6 years to complete and accept students directly from their bachelor's degree. However, most PhD programs in Europe, the UK, and New Zealand require a master's degree first, making the total duration comparable. These regions typically expect applicants to have a research proposal ready and to discuss it with a potential advisor before admission, a practice not commonly required in the US.

Countries like Singapore, Korea, and Turkey also have reputable universities that are worth considering. When researching these options, focus on what each university can offer in terms of unique value propositions and the potential impact you could achieve. Consider where you might want to reside post-graduation.

From a broader perspective, regions like North America and Europe generally have more established research ecosystems. However, many other areas offer excellent opportunities for learning and research that you should explore thoroughly.

I never wanted to be a Computer Scientist. I wanted to be an astronomer. I thought physics could take me anywhere. Between subatomic particles and beyond galaxies. Through a series of events partially out of my control, I ended up at FAST, instead of UET (the only name I had heard of right up until the point of my application to FAST). I hated everything they were teaching in a CS degree. It took me to get through 3 semesters of torturous courses to finally find a course I liked. Assembly language particularly appealed to me because I absolutely loved the way my instructor engaged with me. I found myself so deeply involved that I gave up my gaming nights just to design microprocessors. I quite literally quit my first passion for that. Later on in my undergraduate, I was discouraged from taking the Phonetic course(for the simple reason that the course was useless). Today, I hold a PhD specializing in the same subject. My primary purpose for sharing these details is that life will eventually give you an opportunity to pursue something that brings you sheer joy. Be fearless in your pursuit whenever that time comes. Please forget about your GPA, it legitimately will not matter. Go for amazing teachers even if they are bad graders. If you have the passion you will find your way into your dream job or dream program.