Computer Science News
Students kick-start their studies with generous financial support
Eight students have commenced postgraduate study in the Department of Computer Science this academic year with either a scholarship from DeepMind or a bursary from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
The DeepMind postgraduate scholarship, worth up to £25,000, supports students from sections of the community that are under-represented in postgraduate study. This year the recipients were Jade Savage, Shaquille Momoh, Amer Joudiah and Liam Eloie.
Joining these four students were Alex Gardner, Stephane Ciolino, Jason Morris and Stephen Kelly, the recipients of a bursary from the DCMS. Collectively worth just over £38,000, the bursary helps adults retrain for a job in cyber security as part of the National Cyber Security Programme.
Read more about these scholarships/bursaries and their recipients below.
DEEPMIND POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP
Open to applicants from any one of the following programmes: MSc Computational Statistics and Machine Learning, MSc Machine Learning, MSc Robotics and Computation, MSc Data Science and Machine Learning, MSc Computer Graphics, Vision and Imaging or MSc Information Security. Worth up to £25,000 each. Additional criteria apply.
(From left to right: Liam Eloie, Amer Joudiah, Shaquille Momoh and Jade Savage).
Jade Savage, MSc Computational Statistics and Machine Learning
“I was over the moon when I found out. If you compare it to 100 years ago; a mixed-race female from a low-income family wouldn't have even been considered for a place on such a prestigious course, and now I've been offered £25,000 to support me through my MSc. I feel very fortunate and forever grateful to UCL and DeepMind for making this happen.”
Shaquille Momoh, MSc Data Science and Machine Learning
“This award has been essential to my pursuit in the MSc in Data Science and Machine Learning. Without the award, I would not have been able to do so, resulting in my goals of embarking on a career in machine learning - within academia or industry - being much harder to reach. The income goes towards both my living expenses and my tuition fees.”
Amer Joudiah, MSc Information Security
“I feel extremely honoured and appreciative for receiving this significant award which boosts my confidence and inspiration. The Deepmind scholarship will help me to concentrate on my study by not spending so much time working and the fund might also allow me to take extra paid courses or important certificates. In addition, I could attend conferences related to my program.”
Liam Eloie, MSc Machine Learning
“I was overcome with a great sense of relief and gratification when I found out about the award. Winning this award has enabled me to take this degree without having to worry about financial issues, like whether or not I have enough money to pay rent at the end of the month. Not worrying about finances allows me to focus solely on my studies.”
DEPARTMENT FOR DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT BURSARY
Open to applicants who are UK residents and studying the MSc Information Security. Applicants must not have a cyber-security background, but intend to retrain for employment in this area.
(From left to right: Alex Gardner, Jason Morris, Stephen Kelly and Stephane Ciolino).
Jason Morris
“I decided to give up my job because I felt I needed to refresh my career in technology. I was working hard but not really progressing! Cyber-security appealed to me because I was intrigued to understand the causes of the numerous, headline-grabbing stories to have hit the news in the last few years.
After graduating, I plan to return to work with the combination of 20 years of hands-on, application development experience in a large organisation, together with a Masters’ degree from a world-leading university under my belt. The aim: to make the online world a safer place!”
Stephen Kelly
“My reason for coming back to university was to retrain and specialise in cyber security, the Bursary from DCMS will go a long way to helping me achieve this. I’m privileged and happy to know that support exists for people looking to re-specialise into such a crucial area. I'm also hopeful it will encourage more people in the future to make the choice to specialise in cyber security.”
Stephane Ciolino
“Coming from a telecoms consultancy background, the DCMS award will enable me to use my work experience and further my skills to move into a cyber-security career. It will go towards paying most of my tuition fees for a GCHQ-accredited master's degree at a leading university.”
The Department of Computer Science is a world-leading centre for computer science research and teaching. Our graduates go on to make a deep and lasting impact around the world, and as such we welcome applicants from all groups within the community to apply for our programmes.
