Cynthia Masetto

"I liked that most of the modules had labs where you could ask more questions and put your learning into practice."

I really enjoyed my experience at Essex, both as a small city (Colchester) and as a university. I liked that most of the modules had labs where you could ask more questions and put your learning into practice. I particularly enjoyed Neural Networks, Applied Statistics and Machine Learning modules, as they contained the knowledge that I use the most today.

For my Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) module I had to deliver a project that consisted of training and testing a robot in movement by using ANNs. I had no idea how to make the robot to work and spent all term on this project doing my best to get it right. On the last day of the project, I delivered my code and robot, and the robot didn't crash into anything! I screamed with happiness and all the classroom started laughing because they could see how excited I was.

I got an internship with Profusion, where I worked on my dissertation. I learnt the importance of proper data management to ensure that valuable data is not lost and how data can help future decision making. I improved my knowledge on how to help businesses manage their data better with the help of machine learning algorithms and data science methodologies.

After graduating I was given an opportunity to work as a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Associate between the University of Essex and Filament AI. I developed a software called Cielo which is now deployed in almost every Filament client project, accelerating the delivery of custom machine learning modules in a variety of client settings from banks to charities. As a result of the successes and knowledge embedding achieved through this KTP, myself and Filament were selected winners for the KTP Celebration 2021 Best Partnership Award.

I now work as an applied machine learning scientist at Filament, where I deliver in-house assets (e.g., classifiers and knowledge graphs) which are deployed within bespoke client-specified applications, which continues to represent Filament’s core business area.

I am still developing new skills, most recently delivering projects and developing more tools for internal use. One of the main challenges I face in my career is competition. My area of expertise is highly competitive and you have to keep up to date about new state-of-the-art tools that are being created at the moment.