Welcome to 2016!

Hello and a happy 2016 to all the enthusiastic readers out there!

I hope that you find my first attempt at a blog post both enjoyable and a window to whole new world of being a student here at The University of Manchester. So, why did I choose to start blogging? Well, I was sitting for a delayed bus to The University of Manchester and the idea of writing a blog post surfaced in my mind. A little JK Rowling reference there  😛 . Fun fact, she did get the idea of Harry potter while waiting for a delayed train from Manchester to London. Well in actuality, I was having a read of the many previous blogs from the computer science students and I realized that it gave me a first-hand insight into the student life experiences here in Manchester. So, I decided to put my writing skills and creativity to the test and give blogging a try. After all, arriving here in Manchester was the first step of many to come, to experience something new.

Well, who am I? I am a PhD student in the Advanced Processor Technology (APT) group and was a Masters student in Advanced Computer Science- Artificial Intelligence last year.  Before I came to Manchester, I never really decided that I would transition into a PhD but my Master’s dissertation gave me a unique opportunity to conduct research in Deep Learning! Now, as a PhD student I want to dive deeper into this field, but from a different perspective. My research is now more focused on how applications that rely on such deep learning algorithms, run on low powered devices like mobiles.  You know “the fun stuff”!

So, what has been happening since I started my PhD? Well, at the beginning it was a lot of administrative work, settling into the APT group which involved speaking to other PhD students at different stages of their research and learning about the different research areas. Though it can be intimidating sometimes to speak to experienced PhD students with immense knowledge, you gradually start carving a niche for yourself. Apart from conducting research 24/7, just kidding, I engage in other activities like volunteering and being a teaching assistant.

Finally, I did have some interesting events to attend last few months, one of them notably being my Master’s Graduation ceremony. Quite a memorable day for me, attending the ceremony at the Whitworth Hall, parading in my gown, down the streets and most importantly popping up in all the photographs and meeting all of my old friends!

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(Graduation, December 16, 2015)

Then there was the Bonfire Night at Manchester, which involved fire breathers, a huge bonfire of course and some breath-taking fireworks! A must see event if you get the chance.

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(Bonfire Night, Platt fields Park, 2015)

 

As I am writing this blog it has started to snow a little, here in Manchester, and the sight of it still amazes me! I remember the first time I saw snow here, I lived in a University accommodation in Fallowfield back then and this is what happened ..

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(Manchester snow, Fallowfield 2015)

 

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(Manchester snow, 2016)

See you until my next blog post!

Cheers,

Crefeda