Student Perspectives on MSAI 

Priyanka Aryal remembers the moment she realized she wanted to apply to Northwestern Engineering's Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence (MSAI) program. 

Aryal (MSAI '23) was an IT developer at an electrical supply distribution company with limited exposure to artificial intelligence (AI). She was fascinated by the technology's potential, though, and had been since writing an undergraduate research paper on ethical concerns about AI.  

She attended an online information session about the program featuring program director Kristian Hammond. Aryal heard what Hammond was looking for in prospective students and was quickly hooked. 

"He said he wanted students to become leaders in the field," Aryal said. "That really stuck with me." 

While Aryal was relatively new to AI, Kartikeya Vats (MSAI '23) had been fascinated by it since he was a kid. Vats spent six years as a data scientist at IBM and routinely collaborated with colleagues working in AI. He was well versed in computer vision but turned to MSAI to help him focus on language modeling and become a more well-rounded leader. 

Vats and Aryal recently completed their second quarter in MSAI, and both admitted their experiences in the program so far have been everything they hoped for — and more. 

"We recently had a talk where Professor Hammond emphasized that it's not about what these technologies can do, it's about how you interact with them," Vats said. "While that sentence is pretty simple, the idea is quite profound. How we interact with AI as consumers will really shape our future." 

That idea was reinforced for both students in their Frameworks for Artificial Intelligence course, where each week featured a different guest speaker who took the class behind the scenes of how their company uses AI and shared their insights on the technology's future. 

Hearing their perspective was particularly valuable for Aryal.  

"I learned much more in detail about the implications of AI and its use cases," she said. "Through the industry speakers, I learned what they think about AI and how they perceive AI from an industry point of view."  

Vats has already developed an increased knowledge in language processing like he hoped for, particularly with the arrival and quick adoption of ChatGPT. He's also enjoyed opportunities to focus on deep learning, including applications and algorithms used to train deep neural networks. 

Looking forward, both Aryal and Vats are excited about the remainder of their time in MSAI, particularly the opportunity to intern with an industry partner over the summer, and complete a capstone project in their final quarter.  

They also are excited to apply the lessons they've learned in the workplace. 

Aryal has visions of one day launching her own AI business that helps rescue lost hikers in her native Nepal. Vats isn't sure whether he wants to return to industry work or pursue a PhD; he's leaning toward industry work for now, in part because he sees a way to follow the goal Hammond set out for him and his classmates.  

"I want to work at a mid-size company where I can have a lot of impact on the decision making," he said. "I want to not just solve technical problems, but be at the forefront of making decisions that will help the business grow." 

Both students shared valuable advice for prospective students based on their experiences so far in the program.  

“Come prepared to work hard, stay up-to-date with the latest developments in AI, and be willing to collaborate with classmates and industry partners,” Aryal said. “Be open to new ideas and perspectives.”  

Vats agreed, adding that students need to be self-starters in order to take advantage of all the program has to offer. 

“Beyond classes, keep your eyes and ears open to all the opportunities that come," Vats said. "A university can provide you these opportunities to network, but a lot of these things are very self-driven. Be very mindful of what's going around you, and pick the right opportunities.”