I am very excited to announce that I will begin my studies for a master's at the University of Edinburgh this Fall! I will be pursuing a one-year master's in Informatics.
"So what the heck is Informatics?" you might ask. Well, if you were to take a guess you might say it's the study of information, and you'd be right. But there's quite a bit more to the definition than that, as I'll find out in full force this Fall. For those of you unwilling to spend a year selling your soul to professors and the suffusive glow of computer screens at 4:00 in the morning, I'll just boil down some of the main points from the University of Edinburgh School of Informatics website: Informatics is "The study of the structure, the behaviour, and the interactions of natural and engineered computational systems." It is concerned with the transformation and understanding of information through computation and communication, and it encompasses disciplines such as Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science. For more information, you can go here or utilize a wonderful little thing called Google.
My studies will chiefly be concerned with the computation aspect, in which I will pursue a focus in either Natural Language Processing (NLP) or Machine Learning.
As I prepare for my journey to Edinburgh, completing all the necessary paperwork and packing my life into suitcases, I would like to thank everyone who has helped me reach this juncture in my life. First of all, my siblings for their encouragement, support, and unwavering enthusiasm for my decision to apply to the University of Edinburgh. Then, of course, my parents, who, once they got used to the idea of me pursing my postgraduate studies abroad, whole-heartedly support my decision. Also, for their love and raising me to be the person I am today, I am extremely grateful! Next, the rest of my family for their support, as well as my friends through the years with whom I've shared many wonderful memories! Finally, I would most sincerely like to thank all of my friends and professors from my four years at Western Washington University, particularly those in the Computer Science Department and Linguistics Program. I know that because of the learning and personal growth that happened at Western, I am prepared for this next stage of my life.
And you can follow it every step of the way right here on my blog, which will be my main method of updating and informing others of my time in Scotland and the many adventures to come.
Stay informed. -NLD
