“Artificial Intelligence will surpass humanity,” the professor of my master’s programme declared on day one of JYU. That’s when I knew—I was exactly where I needed to be. And ever since then, my captivating journey began at JYU, where I’ve been amazed by the potential of AI and the opportunities it reveals for me.
Of course, when Professor VaganTerziyan stated this, he wasn’t fearmongering about AI world domination like in the movie Terminator, but how AI is poised to become an integral part of every profession across industries, reshaping all aspects of our work and daily lives. It will replace jobs and change the very fabric of society. So, for future professional security, wasn’t it the best decision to make AI itself my job?
My name is Shaswato Sarker, my friends call me Tirtha. I’m a second-year student in the Master’s Degree Programme in Artificial Intelligence. I completed my bachelor’s education in Electrical and Computer Engineering in my home country, Bangladesh. In my final year of studying there, I specialised in the computer part of the degree, and chose a topic related to Artificial Intelligence and Neural Networks as my thesis topic. That’s how I got started with AI, a decision that would eventually lead me to become a student at the Ģֱ.
Creating, coding, and crafting our way into Artificial Intelligence expertise
You see, my thoughts overlapped with ղ’s shocking day-one declaration, even when I was in Bangladesh, pondering my future career choices. Until then, I had no actual job experience and earned my living by freelancing online. But I was dissatisfied with my life situation. I did not want a career where I would be stuck in front of a screen all my life. I wanted to go out, touch grass, feel the sun on my skin as I worked, and have a real, tangible impact on society.
But I specialized in computer engineering, the very definition of a white-collar desk job. So, I thought long and hard about this question: “What aspect of computer engineering can I leverage to land a job that can be as multidisciplinary as possible?”
There was only one answer. Artificial intelligence. Whether you are working as a software developer, researcher, marketer, content creator, farmer, politician, lawyer, plumber, pilot, soldier, or CEO, AI will dominate your industry. So why not train myself to be an expert in AI, and my AI minions can each be an expert in a field where I don’t have to be stuck on a chair indoors?
“That’s called Collective Intelligence,” Vagan said during the admission interview. It was one of the core subjects taught in the past COIN (Cognitive Computing and Collective Intelligence), and now AI, programme. I was immediately sold.
And I was not disappointed when lectures started. The passion of the professors while teaching subjects like Deep Learning, Semantic Web Technologies, and Machine Learning infected me like a virus. We learned by doing. No boring exams where we had to sit in a chair and regurgitate knowledge acquired by rote memorisation. We created, coded, and crafted our way into AI expertise, one practical project at a time. It was like I was a kid again, basking in the joy of learning in the infinitely complex yet mesmerising field of creating electrical brains on a silicon chip.
Happiest country in the world – with high-quality education
I am a lazy person. I don’t like working under duress, even though for most of my life I have, especially during my bachelor’s studies. I wanted something different for my master’s.
So future career security wasn’t the only driving force behind my choice of university. Location and culture were paramount too. I didn’t want to go to a country where the predominant study culture is similar to the nine-to-five rat race. The first thing I did while choosing which countries to apply to was to delete the university ranking bookmarked page from my browser. I searched if there was a ranking of universities by how healthy the study life was, or how welcoming they were towards international students. No luck.
Then I searched for countries. And ta-da, Finland. Happiest country in the world, amazing work-life balance, and an education system so good it makes headlines on a daily basis. I immediately applied to as many universities as I could.
And finally, JYU chose me, and I chose JYU.
JYU, Jyväskylä and Finland have excellent systems to guide you towards success
I’ll be honest. Despite all that I’d read about Finland online, I was terrified of negative thirty degrees of temperature, the purported darkness, the isolation, and the loneliness. I arrived alone at Jyväskylä. How would I make friends? The university gave me the answer. There are literally a million hobby associations here about any subject conceivable. Dancing, mahjong, archery, anime, video games. I quickly mixed in, made so many friends, and went to so many events I don’t even know how the year zoomed by.
The best part? I maintained such an active social life despite earning more than enough credits for the academic year. JYU doesn’t push you. It wants you to progress, but not so fast that you burn out. It wants stability in your life, but not so still that you become stagnant. Because in Jyväskylä, like everywhere else in Finland, mental and physical health is paramount.
Take your time during studies, ask for deadline extensions, ask for help. The university, city, and country have well-thought-out systems in place to nudge you towards success. There is no rush. Time will move at your own, personal pace.
Coming to JYU to study has been one of the best choices I’ve made in my life. Leaving family behind to move to a new country seven thousand kilometers away, the quality of life and education here has vindicated my decision.
I love it here. I love the culture, the people, and the university. And I would love it if you, yes you, my dear reader, could give JYU, Jyväskylä, and Finland a chance to make you fall in love with them too.
Read more: Master's Degree Programme in Artificial Intelligence
