Open Doors Olympiad winner Yadhukrishnan C.J.: “The future lies in artificial intelligence”

On September 5, the qualifying stage of the international Olympiad Open Doors: Russian Scholarship Project started. Yadhukrishnan C.J. from India won the Olympiad and was able to continue his studies on a budgetary basis at the Institute of Cybersecurity and computer science of SPbPU. He spoke about his studies in an interview.

— Why did you choose Russia to continue your studies?

— I have long dreamed of visiting Russia, I was interested in the development of science and technology in the country. While researching options for a master’s degree, I learned that Russian universities offer a wide range of courses in English. This attracted me in the first place.

— Why did you choose Polytechnic University?

— Polytechnic University is known in my country as one of the best technical universities in Russia. The opportunity to study in English, the curriculum and the affordable cost of education played an important role in my choice. In addition, I was interested in St. Petersburg.

— Please tell us what field of study you chose.

— I chose «Intelligent Systems» because I wanted to learn more about neural networks and their application in real life. This direction seems very relevant and interesting to me.

— What exactly attracted you?

— The program focuses on automating various tasks in real time. In the first semester, I studied the basics of optimization methods, neural networks and the implementation of MATLAB software to solve different problems. It was a completely new experience for me.

— What topics did you study further?

— In the second and third semesters, we delved deeper into creating knowledge bases and implementing them using programs such as Anylogic and Codesys. I learned how to model problems in real time and find effective solutions.

— What subjects did you particularly enjoy?

— It was interesting in software engineering technologies, where we studied assembly code and methods of protecting programs from external threats. I defended my master’s degree thesis working on a real-world problem in collaboration with several professors. The experience of communicating with them was incredibly valuable, I was able to understand their ideas more deeply. All professors at Polytechnic University are exceptional professionals with deep knowledge in their fields. If I had studied Russian, I would have been able to get even more out of my studies. The language barrier certainly exists, and sometimes it seems that some things are left out.

— Do you plan to study Russian?

— Yes, definitely. I joined the preparatory faculty with this very purpose in mind. Studying in the international master’s degree program was entirely in English, but since I want to continue my postgraduate studies at Polytechnic University, knowledge of Russian is essential.

— Share your professional plans.

— Artificial intelligence is developing rapidly and I believe it is important to deepen my knowledge in this field. This will open up new career opportunities both in Russia and abroad.