Exploring Ericsson Big Data research program - Summer in the Labs
Hi Vaishnavi! How did you end up at Ericsson Research?
Hi! I got the opportunity to work with Ericsson Research thanks to a collaborative research project between my university and Ericsson into machine learning. My university has a Big Data research program through which I got to work with Ericsson. I am now back in India and both my professor and the Ericsson Research team in Kista generously allowed me to pursue my course work from here.
What do you do as an intern?
My role as an intern at Ericsson Research involves helping clean up log messages generated from servers and routers and I am also working on open-source data. The goal of this project is to improve the readability and understanding of log messages, which are vast and unstructured pools of data. The insights that can be gained from intelligently processed data are tremendous and by reducing the mundane and domain specific handling of such messages it opens more applications within the industry. After the data cleaning step has been achieved, it will be exciting to see how to further integrate machine learning and data analytics on the results.
"My professor and my mentors are giving me the right space to grow into a machine learning and data scientist."
Name: Vaishnavi Annavarjula
Unit: Machine Intelligence
Education: Msc. at Blekinge
Institute of Technology
Location: Bangalore, India
Age: 23
I have the unique opportunity of integrating programming and principles of algorithm design, machine learning and industrial economic practices in development. This is a special experience for me because as a part of academics I would never think about the cost factor in research beyond the time it took and the disconnect between academia results and industrial research results. I feel this can be bridged by working on problems with an academic eye and an industrial approach.
Thanks to my mentor who is extremely supportive, I can set my own pace and problem definitions. The perceptions and approaches in problem solving used in Ericsson are different from what I have read or looked up. This is giving me a chance to look beyond information and evolve towards knowledge.
What do you want to learn more about?
Looking at all the work being done in a small team of researchers makes me want to learn more about areas such as IoT and storage as a service. The researchers here are open to discussion about any queries or insights I may have to share with them and this is helping me think critically about the opinions I form. My professor and my mentors are giving me the right space to grow into a machine learning and data scientist.
Ericsson Research has initiated collaborations with other top-tier universities in India, which has brought me in proximity to students of these universities and discussing opportunities and interesting technology with the other interns has been fulfilling and has helped me form new connections with bright people just entering the technology market. There are also fortnightly gatherings called Nerd Lunches, where seminars are held about current topics...with snacks!
What do you do when you're not working?
Apart from fantasizing about the next big thing in data science, I like to read anything I can get my hands on and go on long walks while listening to audiobooks.
Facts about Bangalore
- Bangalore is the third-largest city in India.
- Residents: ~ 8 400 000
- Latitude/Longitude: 12.9716°N, 77.5946°E
- Bangalore, sometimes referred to as "India's Silicon Valley", is a paradise for technology centers with the country's largest concentration of IT companies.