In this engaging conversation, Isabella Bicalho, a Machine Learning Engineer and passionate advocate for women in data science, shares her journey from academia to freelancing in AI. She discusses the vibrant AI scene in France, her experiences with open-source contributions, and the significance of mentorship. Isabella reveals her insights on balancing technical and soft skills, the pros and cons of freelancing vs. full-time work, and highlights her mission to showcase women's achievements in the tech field through her newsletter.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Unexpected ML Career
Isabella Bicalho's career transitioned unexpectedly into machine learning during her master's in bioinformatics.
She was initially interested in data engineering, but statistics and linear modeling led her to discover machine learning.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Education and Language
Bicalho studied biological sciences in Brazil and got her master's in bioinformatics in France.
She learned French before moving to France.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Inria Internship
Bicalho interned at Inria, a French research institute known for scikit-learn.
She worked on predicting patient cancer response to immunotherapy using blood samples.
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In this podcast episode, we talked with Isabella Bicalho about Career advice, learning, and featuring women in ML and AI.
About the Speaker:
Isabella is a Machine Learning Engineer and Data Scientist with three years of hands-on AI development experience. She draws upon her early computational research expertise to develop ML solutions. While contributing to open-source projects, she runs a newsletter dedicated to showcasing women's accomplishments in data science.
During this event, the guest discussed her transition into machine learning, her freelance work in AI, and the growing AI scene in France. She shared insights on freelancing versus full-time work, the value of open-source contributions, and developing both technical and soft skills. The conversation also covered career advice, mentorship, and her Substack series on women in data science, emphasizing leadership, motivation, and career opportunities in tech.
0:00 Introduction
1:23 Background of Isabella Bicalho
2:02 Transition to machine learning
4:03 Study and work experience
5:00 Living in France and language learning
6:03 Internship experience
8:45 Focus areas of Inria
9:37 AI development in France
10:37 Current freelance work
11:03 Freelancing in machine learning
13:31 Moving from research to freelancing
14:03 Freelance vs. full-time data science
17:00 Finding first freelance client
18:00 Involvement in open-source projects
20:17 Passion for open-source and teamwork
23:52 Starting new projects
25:03 Community project experience
26:02 Teaching and learning
29:04 Contributing to open-source projects
32:05 Open-source tools vs. projects
33:32 Importance of community-driven projects
34:03 Learning resources
36:07 Green space segmentation project
39:02 Developing technical and soft skills
40:31 Gaining insights from industry experts
41:15 Understanding data science roles
41:31 Project challenges and team dynamics
42:05 Turnover in open-source projects
43:05 Managing expectations in open-source work
44:50 Mentorship in projects
46:17 Role of AI tools in learning
47:59 Overcoming learning challenges
48:52 Discussion on substack
49:01 Interview series on women in data
50:15 Insights from women in data science
51:20 Impactful stories from substack
53:01 Leadership challenges in projects
54:19 Career advice and opportunities
56:07 Motivating others to step out of comfort zone
57:06 Contacting for substack story sharing
58:00 Closing remarks and connections
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