BS (Data Science)
What do you do when nobody tells you where to begin? For Taniya Chouhan, the answer was simple: begin anyway. She didn’t grow up with a roadmap to competitive exams or college admissions. COVID had disrupted the years when most students discovered those pathways, and coaching options in her hometown were limited.After Class 12, she took a drop year, prepared on her own, qualified for the IIT Madras BS Degree in Data Science and Applications, and stepped into a world she knew very little about. When she joined the programme in 2023, she had never written a line of code.
She began with Python before gradually building expertise in Java, JavaScript, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning through the programme. Each course introduced her to possibilities she hadn’t imagined for herself just a few years earlier.
One of her earliest applications was for a Machine Learning Research Internship at DRDO, Hyderabad. It was her first experience stepping into a professional research environment, and she was selected. For two months, she worked onsite, applying concepts she had learnt during the programme to research-oriented problems while discovering what working in an advanced research organisation really looked like.
That experience convinced her that every application could lead somewhere unexpected. Soon after, she joined ‘Scale Through Automation’, a US-based automation company as a part-time Business Analyst, working remotely with an international team while continuing her degree. It was an opportunity to understand business processes, automation, and analytics in a professional setting, all while learning to balance assignment deadlines.
Interested in the intersection of artificial intelligence and business, Taniya came across the work of Professor Yin Huaxiang at Nanyang Technological University’s Business School, whose research closely aligned with her interests. She read his publications, reached out to him directly, applied to join his research project, and interviewed for the position. Her efforts earned her a place in the NTU Global Connect Fellowship, and today she is in Singapore conducting research in an international academic environment. It wasn’t an opportunity she happened to find – it was one she deliberately pursued.
Looking at those milestones, it is tempting to see a series of fortunate breaks. What those achievements don’t reveal are the applications that never became offers. Taniya doesn’t dwell on them. Instead, she accepts them as part of the process.
“There will always be rejection. You only need one offer, but for that one offer, you’ll face many rejections.”
That philosophy also shapes the advice she gives to students pursuing the BS Degree as a standalone programme.
“Build your profile early. Don’t wait for opportunities to find you, and don’t assume that an IIT tag alone is enough. Research the work you’re applying for, personalise your applications, and be willing to send far more of them than you expect to succeed.”
Alongside these opportunities, Taniya values one feature of the programme above all else: its flexibility. It allowed her to pursue opportunities beyond the classroom without putting her education on hold. The fee waiver she continues to receive has also made the programme financially accessible. But she is quick to point out that flexibility comes with responsibility. “You need to be self-motivated,” she says, reflecting on one of the biggest lessons of an online degree.
Looking back, Taniya’s journey isn’t marked by semesters or grades. It is marked by applications. One led to DRDO. Another to a US-based startup. Another took her all the way to NTU Singapore. None came with guarantees. She simply kept pressing “Send.”
~written by Shambhavi Shekhar
