A passion for data science and German work culture

Srishti Ganguly worked for a multinational corporation in India on a German client project. The work culture intrigued her. “I want to visit Germany at least once in my life”, she decided. Little did she know that this was the start of an exciting journey that brought her to the SHR University of Applied Sciences in Heidelberg. Srishti Ganguly received her bachelor’s degree in electronics and telecommunications engineering from a renowned university in India and had four years of work experience in her field when she felt ready for the next step. “With a good understanding of the IT culture, I wanted to go back to university to advance in my career”, she says. That’s when inspiration struck: “Why not do both – visit Germany and study for my master’s degree?”

Learning about the journey of data

When looking for a master’s program, she came across the SRH University of Applied Sciences Heidelberg. “My areas of interest were data science, engineering, and analytics and the course offered all of that, which was perfect”, she said. The program more than fulfilled her expectations: “I learned about the entire journey of data - data extraction, profiling and cleaning, transformation, applying machine learning models to achieve insights, visualizing, and presenting those insights to stakeholders.”

While the syllabus covered all the skills she had hoped to learn, there was something she especially appreciated: The SRH University of Applied Sciences Heidelberg introduced an internship as a new module in the program. During her internship, Srishti Ganguly was not only able to expand her skill set and deepen her understanding and learning, she also got to experience German work culture, which had influenced her decision to study in Heidelberg, first hand.

Data science is big in Baden-Württemberg

After her studies, Srishti Ganguly can imagine immersing herself further in the German work culture: “Many big companies like Zeiss, Porsche, SAP, and others are headquartered here in Baden-Württemberg. This offers many job opportunities in the field of engineering and data science.”

At the SRH University of Applied Sciences Heidelberg, she learned to follow the course material and the value of independent study. “Self-study places a huge role in master's because not everything can be taught and learnt in class lectures.” The love of learning will accompany her throughout her career as she wishes to work as a data engineer in a team that continues to challenge itself and come up with new solutions to existing problems.

Continuous learning is key

When asked what advice she would give to international students, her enthusiasm for learning, self-development and growth came through: “Stay open to new technologies, learn as much as possible during a course and get to know the German culture and history”. Learning German also proved useful to her – during her studies, work experience and during trips to Lake Constance and Hohenzollern Castle.

Author: Siri Schubert