Joppe

As my undergraduate in Computer Science at KU Leuven University progressed, I developed an interest and passion for analytics in the broad sense. I started to specialize in machine learning. For my bachelor thesis, I implemented a generative adversarial network to generate realistic images from textual descriptions. I did an applied research internship at KU Leuven University after that in which I employed a state-of-the-art natural language understanding model for keyword extraction. As of January 2019, I decided to pursue machine learning professionally. I started Daydream, a one-person machine learning consultancy business. Through my software development internships at VikingCo & T-Mining, my research internship at KU Leuven University and my extracurricular work with my student association Emergent, I experienced first-hand the importance of collaboration and interdisciplinary teams. I am convinced that an optimal solution can only be achieved by using the knowledge of a diverse group of people that span a wide range of backgrounds. I carried this mindset throughout my activities at Emergent where we make data science accessible to an interdisciplinary group of students. As board member and responsible for partner relations, I learned the subtleties of collaborating with clients and the importance of understanding customer needs. I was also responsible for the organization of our Data 4 Good Challenge. This event gathers 125 students that work together in complementary teams on a data analytics case. Deliverables include data insights, visualization and a roadmap to tackle food insecurity. During my time with Emergent, I acquired leadership skills that I am developing further to support teams in performing at the highest level.