From skydiving to dancing, Stuart's curiosity and initiative has given him a wealth of experience. Find out what made Stuart join NUS-ISS and why he loves teaching!
1. Hi Stuart, please tell us about your professional background:
I have a Bachelor of Quantitative Finance and Economics from Singapore Management University as well as a Master and a PhD in Economics from Lehigh University, USA.
Upon graduation, I ventured into the data wonderland and held multiple positions across different industries. Across all the positions, the common ‘theme’ was always ‘data’ and I feel blessed to be able to ‘tango’ with data for so long.
2. Could you share more about the modules/courses which you teach at NUS-ISS?
I recently joined NUS-ISS and have taught two courses so far: Data Storytelling and Health Analytics in Advanced Predictive Modelling Techniques. I will be teaching Statistics Bootcamp and am also familiarising myself with two new courses: Advanced ML course for Finance which was recently delivered to a banking client; and a new course Data Science Solution Implementation developed for MTech and seasoned data scientists. I hope to participate in delivering these courses in future.
3. Why did you choose to teach at NUS-ISS?
I have always enjoyed teaching and in my past industry jobs, I have made the initiatives to set up data science academies within the companies to train employees without any data background. Many of them became successful data scientists/researchers today. It was such a fulfilling and rewarding experience.
When I was first contacted by NUS-ISS, I was very excited about the opportunity. Upon further research, I was totally blown away by the NUS-ISS teaching staff with their impressive backgrounds. With the love of teaching and amazing colleagues, making the decision to join NUS-ISS was a no-brainer.
4. What do you enjoy most about your work?
Witnessing students gain new knowledge and skills gives me enormous satisfaction beyond words that could describe. I was told at a very young age that teachers are the ‘engineers of human souls’ and in my opinion, teaching is a very noble career and I am certainly happy to be part of it.
In addition, NUS-ISS modules are all very practical and up-to-date with the latest industry trends and technologies. I also enjoy reading journal articles to discover and understand the latest developments in the data science and AI fields.
5. How do you keep up with the industry?
Other than reading from various sources, my friends in the industry have been truly helpful. I cannot express how grateful I am for their consistent and constant sharing of latest trends and events in the industry.
6. What are your favorite activities when you are not working?
Pilates. I thoroughly enjoy the burning sensation on my abs. Reading different genres of books also helps me relax.
7. Tell us something about yourself that very few people know.
I have a curious mind and have experimented with all types of activities ranging from skydiving to bachata (a style of social dance from the Dominican Republic) in the past. However, very few knew that I am a decent cook (bearing in mind that I do not have very stringent standards). I do not particularly love the process of cooking but the result, a nice dish, always motivates me to cook. I also love to experience how different cultures are expressed through cooking.
I normally do not take many photos of my cooking but I take a lot of pride in garnishing!
Some of the dishes I have cooked in the past