Mikhail Chertushkin
Stay Hungry for Knowledge, Study, and Follow Your Dreams, Says Award Winner, Mikhail Chertushkin (MET’20)
Mikhail Chertushkin
NLP Manager, Data Science at RepTrak
MS in Computer Science (MET’20)
What do you find most fascinating about the discipline of computer science? Do you have a particular focus within the broader field?
Knowing computer science is like knowing another foreign language. That is not entirely my original idea; I have paraphrased it from something Tim Cook said in 2017. I am convinced that today it is critically important for people to understand the subject of computer science, because it opens a lot of perspectives. I am more focused right now on machine learning and data science for two main reasons: First, this field is already changing the landscape of our future with unparalleled speed. It is impossible to tell what will happen in the future, because the potential is literally unlimited. Second, machine learning is in some sense a combination of math and programming. For me, it is more interesting to work in a machine learning field on an everyday basis than in a software development field.
Did you always intend on going back to school, or did the need arise at a particular moment?
When I was a student in my twenties I had a dream to study in the USA. Unfortunately, at that time, I did not have an opportunity to do it. After my first education, I built a rather decent career as a team lead in the software development department. But this idea of studying abroad was constantly circulating inside my head, so on my thirtieth birthday, after a lot of doubts, I decided to apply for a master’s program.
Congratulations on your high achievement in the Master of Science in Computer Science (MSCS) program and your Award for Excellence in your studies! Looking back, what do you consider to be the main ingredients of your success?
Removing Netflix was the best decision I made (joke). In fact, I am sure that every student knows the main ingredient to their success, so I will not open a world to anybody. It is just doing what is important, and not doing what is not important. I think I was very lucky with my first education as well. I finished at an excellent school in Russia, and it gave me a lot of fundamental skills that combined perfectly with the practical skills I learned from Boston University.
How were you able to successfully balance your studies with your commitments outside the classroom?
I have a personal hack, which helped me a lot. Every morning, I revisited the lectures of the day before. This may not sound like groundbreaking advice, but believe me, after constant revisiting in a systematic way it is much easier for a brain to concentrate.
Was your success in the program driven by a particular outcome—such as professional advancement, educational achievement, personal satisfaction, or something else?
As I mentioned earlier, I had dreamed for ages of studying in the USA, so I just had the inner motivation to do it. I really enjoyed studying. Being in industry, I forgot the joy of acquiring new knowledge. This joy and fun also contributed a lot.
Is there a particular course or project that enhanced your experience in the MSCS program?
I am very impressed by the course Computer Language Theory (MET CS 662) from Dr. Madani Naidjate. This was an amazing, fun, and rewarding course. I loved every lecture and the atmosphere that Madani created for us in the classroom. Professor Naidjate has “a talent of a teacher.” Later I learned that Professor Naidjate also sometimes teaches Discrete Mathematics (MET CS 248), and now I have a regret that I did not take CS 248 when I had time. I highly recommend CS 662 from Professor Naidjate to everyone. Actually, it is a mandatory course in the MS in Computer Science curriculum, so you have to take it anyway if you study computer science.
How do you plan to apply the skills and competencies you gained during your studies moving forward? What is next in store for you?
I have acquired very good combination of practical and theoretical skills in machine learning that I intend to use at my job. Actually, I plan to use my project assignment from another outstanding course, Big Data Analytics (MET CS 777), taught by Professor Kia Teymourian, as a basis for calculation of different embeddings in the company where I work now.
You were recognized by faculty and peers for your hard work and dedication to the MSCS program. What “words of advice” or encouragement have served as a guiding principle, or simply inspiration, for you?
In 2010, I watched Steve Jobs’ 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University. Now, it is a very popular speech with millions of views, but in 2010 it was not so popular and I watched it just by accident. But I think that his words “stay hungry, stay foolish” caused an irreversible change in me at that time. Being always hungry for knowledge is something that helped me a lot.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I would like to add that MS in Computer Science is an amazing program at BU. If you ever had a dream to study abroad, but you think that you are too old to do it, don’t think. Just be hungry and study.