Ms. Priyanka Kasture, founder of Machine Learning India community which has around 300,000+ ardent learners and followers. She started this community in April 2018 as a page named "ML India" on instagram and today the community has reached a differnt height.
In this interview series with Priyanka, she describes in detail her experiences, success and failures, strategies and goals, future aspirations and how she is leading this large community...
1. A brief idea about what ML India do?
Founded in April of 2018, Machine Learning India (MLI), is a thriving community of over 300,000 ardent - artificial intelligence enthusiasts across India and the globe. We at MLI, believe that India has the potential to position itself among leaders on the global technology map.
The goal of MLI is to reduce the skill-gap in India, by creating a vibrant AI ecosystem and talent pool; thereby leading our country to have a significant take in the global AI revolution. To pursue the same, we intend to democratize quality technical education, resources and opportunities and make it available to all.
2. What is your background, like from where do you belong and where you completed your education?
I was born in a Jain household, in the summer of 1997, at Solapur, Maharashtra but have spent over a staggering 22 years of my life in Pune, a city considered to be the educational capital of the state of Maharashtra. Pune is also where I currently operate from and reside with my family. As a child, I had developed the virtue of curiosity and that led me to learn a lot of things outside the conventional academic framework.
I focused on learning real world skills by reading some of the most wonderful books written by the world’s best leaders, marketers and technologists. I took up the most amazing online courses, and actively started applying my learnings. I worked under and for a lot of business owners and startups, and also operated as a freelancer for a brief period of time, all while at college. All that I learnt during those times, is something I value the most at this point of time in my life. Had I not decided to work on skills that matter in the real world, I would not be the strong and independent woman that created India’s first ever social-media driven machine learning community today!
3. Given a range of various opportunities present on campus like placements, higher studies, etc., what inspired you to work in this field ?
I was never the 9-5 type, although it is not something that I utterly disregard. The idea of a steady pay-check hitting my bank account was very lucrative and I was confident that I would bag a decent package. A lot of my fellow batchmates were getting placed at good companies and organizations, and that made me anxious for a brief period of time, I remember. It was quite a tough situation, also because my family wanted me to take up a job and do this thing that the society calls ‘settle’ apparently.
Despite all the fear of missing out on a healthy salary and the pressure from my family, I decided that I would stay true to my passion for entrepreneurship and building something of my own. It was my life, after all, my work, my happiness, the peace of my mind, and I’m quite uncompromising on that front. I knew, with the kind of personality I have, I could pull a business off, and I certainly didn’t want to look back and regret my decisions, because time would have passed and time is the most valuable resource I have. I’ve grown to spend it very cautiously.
My interest in business had led me to work on a few ventures prior to starting Machine Learning India. I made mistakes no doubt, but I also learnt a lot in the process. All those experiences are helping me better execute the work I am doing today. MLI, which is now a community backed by a private company, started in April of 2018, as a page on the Instagram social media platform. Back then, I just wanted to share quality information and make it accessible to people like me, who were passionate about the field but were lacking appropriate guidance and mentorship in their journey. I didn’t want that to happen to anybody else and therefore I started pouring my heart and soul into keeping the page alive, even though there wasn’t any concrete engagement coming in.
In a few months, the page started growing at an astounding rate, given the appeal of the content I was putting out and the hype about the AI and ML. We soon made it a community and started conducting free as well as paid - offline and online events. When I look back, I’m fascinated by how long I have come but equally startled by what the future holds. Cannot comment much on what MLI would look like five years from today, but can assure you that it would be something really wonderful. Let us hope for the best.
To be continued.......
P.S. - This was the Part-I of her interview, next part will be published soon..Stay Tuned!!
In this interview series with Priyanka, she describes in detail her experiences, success and failures, strategies and goals, future aspirations and how she is leading this large community...
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| Priyanka Kasture, Founder ML India |
Founded in April of 2018, Machine Learning India (MLI), is a thriving community of over 300,000 ardent - artificial intelligence enthusiasts across India and the globe. We at MLI, believe that India has the potential to position itself among leaders on the global technology map.
The goal of MLI is to reduce the skill-gap in India, by creating a vibrant AI ecosystem and talent pool; thereby leading our country to have a significant take in the global AI revolution. To pursue the same, we intend to democratize quality technical education, resources and opportunities and make it available to all.
2. What is your background, like from where do you belong and where you completed your education?
I was born in a Jain household, in the summer of 1997, at Solapur, Maharashtra but have spent over a staggering 22 years of my life in Pune, a city considered to be the educational capital of the state of Maharashtra. Pune is also where I currently operate from and reside with my family. As a child, I had developed the virtue of curiosity and that led me to learn a lot of things outside the conventional academic framework.
The way things function intrigued me a lot and I always was very inclined towards actualizing my thoughts and ideas; moreover, was never afraid to seek advice or help. I was also very passionate about languages, particularly English and was lauded for my linguistic capabilities from a very young age. I went on to pursue Science with a specialization in Electronics, at junior college level in Nowrosjee Wadia College of Science and Arts, and then an engineer’s degree in Information Technology at PES’s Modern College of Engineering, Pune.
While at college, I grew to slightly dislike the system, the people involved and their perspective towards education and growth. They seemed to encourage students to focus on securing a higher pointer or grade by regurgitating unoriginal information, and I found that to be inacceptable. I didn’t see all that adding a lot of value to my life, and hence, I decided to walk my own way, the one of self-learning.
While at college, I grew to slightly dislike the system, the people involved and their perspective towards education and growth. They seemed to encourage students to focus on securing a higher pointer or grade by regurgitating unoriginal information, and I found that to be inacceptable. I didn’t see all that adding a lot of value to my life, and hence, I decided to walk my own way, the one of self-learning.
3. Given a range of various opportunities present on campus like placements, higher studies, etc., what inspired you to work in this field ?
I was never the 9-5 type, although it is not something that I utterly disregard. The idea of a steady pay-check hitting my bank account was very lucrative and I was confident that I would bag a decent package. A lot of my fellow batchmates were getting placed at good companies and organizations, and that made me anxious for a brief period of time, I remember. It was quite a tough situation, also because my family wanted me to take up a job and do this thing that the society calls ‘settle’ apparently.
Despite all the fear of missing out on a healthy salary and the pressure from my family, I decided that I would stay true to my passion for entrepreneurship and building something of my own. It was my life, after all, my work, my happiness, the peace of my mind, and I’m quite uncompromising on that front. I knew, with the kind of personality I have, I could pull a business off, and I certainly didn’t want to look back and regret my decisions, because time would have passed and time is the most valuable resource I have. I’ve grown to spend it very cautiously.
My interest in business had led me to work on a few ventures prior to starting Machine Learning India. I made mistakes no doubt, but I also learnt a lot in the process. All those experiences are helping me better execute the work I am doing today. MLI, which is now a community backed by a private company, started in April of 2018, as a page on the Instagram social media platform. Back then, I just wanted to share quality information and make it accessible to people like me, who were passionate about the field but were lacking appropriate guidance and mentorship in their journey. I didn’t want that to happen to anybody else and therefore I started pouring my heart and soul into keeping the page alive, even though there wasn’t any concrete engagement coming in.
In a few months, the page started growing at an astounding rate, given the appeal of the content I was putting out and the hype about the AI and ML. We soon made it a community and started conducting free as well as paid - offline and online events. When I look back, I’m fascinated by how long I have come but equally startled by what the future holds. Cannot comment much on what MLI would look like five years from today, but can assure you that it would be something really wonderful. Let us hope for the best.
To be continued.......
P.S. - This was the Part-I of her interview, next part will be published soon..Stay Tuned!!
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