

DataTalks.Club
DataTalks.Club
DataTalks.Club - the place to talk about data!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 24, 2023 • 54min
SE4ML - Software Engineering for Machine Learning - Nadia Nahar
We talked about:
Nadia’s background
Academic research in software engineering
Design patterns
Software engineering for ML systems
Problems that people in industry have with software engineering and ML
Communication issues and setting requirements
Artifact research in open source products
Product vs model
Nadia’s open source product dataset
Failure points in machine learning projects
Finding solutions to issues using Nadia’s dataset and experience
The problem of siloing data scientists and other structure issues
The importance of documentation and checklists
Responsible AI
How data scientists and software engineers can work in an Agile way
Links:
Model Card: https://arxiv.org/abs/1810.03993
Datasheets: https://arxiv.org/abs/1803.09010
Factsheets: https://arxiv.org/abs/1808.07261
Research Paper: https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~ckaestne/pdf/icse22_seai.pdf
Arxiv version: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2110.
Free data engineering course: https://github.com/DataTalksClub/data-engineering-zoomcamp
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html
Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html

Mar 17, 2023 • 52min
Starting a Consultancy in the Data Space - Aleksander Kruszelnicki
We talked about:
Aleksander’s background
The difficulty of selling data stack as a service
How Aleksander got into consulting
The Mom Test – extracting feedback from people
User interviews
Why Aleksander’s data stack as a service startup was not viable
How Aleksander decided to switch to consulting
Finding clients to consult
Figuring out how to position your services
Geographical limitations
Figuring out your target audience
The importance of networking and marketing
Pricing your services
The pitfalls of daily and hourly pricing and how to balance incentives
Is Germany a good place to found a company?
Aleksander’s book recommendations
Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alkrusz/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/alkrusz
Website: www.leukos.io
Free data engineering course: https://github.com/DataTalksClub/data-engineering-zoomcamp
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html
Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html

Mar 10, 2023 • 53min
Biohacking for Data Scientists and ML Engineers - Ruslan Shchuchkin
We talked about:
Ruslan’s background
Fighting procrastination and perfectionism
What is biohacking?
The role of dopamine and other hormones in daily life
How meditation can help
The influence light has on our bodies
Behavioral biohacking
Daylight lamps and using light to wake up
Sleep cycles
How nutrition affects productivity
Measuring productivity
Examples of unsuccessful biohacking attempts
Stoicism, voluntary discomfort, and self-challenges
Biohacking risks and ways to prevent them
Coffee and tea biohacking
Using self-reflection and tracking to measure results
Mindset shifting
Stoicism book recommendation
Work/life balance
Ruslan’s biohacking resource recommendation
Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruslanshchuchkin/
ree data engineering course: https://github.com/DataTalksClub/data-engineering-zoomcamp
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html
Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html

Mar 3, 2023 • 55min
Analytics for a Better World - Parvathy Krishnan
We talked about:
Parvathy’s background
Brainstorming sessions with nonprofits to establish data maturity
Example of an Analytics for a Better World project
The overall data maturity situation of nonprofits vs private sector
Solving the skill gap
Publicly available content
The Analytics for a Better World Academy
The Academy’s target audience
How researchers can work with Analytics for a Better World
Improving data maturity in nonprofit organizations
People, processes, and technology
Typical tools that Analytics for a Better World recommends to nonprofits
Profiles in nonprofits
Does Analytics for a Better World has a need for data engineers?
The Analytics for a Better World team
Factors that help organizations become more data-driven
Parvathy’s resource recommendations
Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parvathykrishnank/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ABWInstitute
Github: https://github.com/Analytics-for-a-Better-World
Website: https://analyticsbetterworld.org/
Free data engineering course: https://github.com/DataTalksClub/data-engineering-zoomcamp
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html
Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html

Feb 24, 2023 • 57min
Accelerating the Adoption of AI through Diversity - Dânia Meira
We talked about:
Dania’s background
Founding the AI Guild
Datalift Summit
Coming up with meetup topics
Diversity in Berlin
Other types of diversity besides gender
The pitfalls of lacking diversity
Creating an environment where people can safely share their experiences
How the AI Guild helps organizations become more diverse
How the AI guild finds women in the fields of AI and data science
Advice for people in underrepresented groups
Organizing a welcoming environment and creating a code of conduct
AI Guild’s consulting work and community
AI Guild team
Dania’s resource recommendations
Upcoming Datalift Summit
Links:
Call for Speakers for the #datalift summit (Berlin, 14 to 16 June 2023): https://eu1.hubs.ly/H02RXvX0
Coded Bias documentary on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/de/title/81328723#:~:text=This%20documentary%20investigates%20the%20bias,flaws%20in%20facial%20recognition%20technology.
Book Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O'Neil: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapons_of_Math_Destruction
Book Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_In
Free data engineering course: https://github.com/DataTalksClub/data-engineering-zoomcamp
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html
Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html

Feb 17, 2023 • 55min
Staff AI Engineer - Tatiana Gabruseva
We talked about:
Tatiana’s background
Going from academia to healthcare to the tech industry
What staff engineers do
Transferring skills from academia to industry and learning new ones
The importance of having mentors
Skipping junior and mid-level straight into the staff role
Convincing employers that you can take on a lead role
Seeing failure as a learning opportunity
Preparing for coding interviews
Preparing for behavioral and system design interviews
The importance of having a network and doing mock interviews
How much do staff engineers work with building pipelines, data science, ETC, MPOps, etc.?
Context switching
Advice for those going from academia to industry
The most exciting thing about working as an AI staff engineer
Tatiana’s book recommendations
Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tatigabru/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tatigabru
Github: https://github.com/tatigabru
Website: http://tatigabru.com/
Free data engineering course: https://github.com/DataTalksClub/data-engineering-zoomcamp
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html
Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html

Feb 11, 2023 • 52min
The Journey of a Data Generalist: From Bioinformatics to Freelancing - Jekaterina Kokatjuhha
We talked about:
Jekaterina’s background
How Jekaterina started freelancing
Jekaterina’s initial ways of getting freelancing clients
How being a generalist helped Jekaterina’s career
Connecting business and data
How Jekaterina’s LinkedIn posts helped her get clients
Jekaterina’s work in fundraising
Cohorts and KPIs
Improving communication between the data and business teams
Motivating every link in the company’s chain
The cons of freelancing
Balancing projects and networking
The importance of enjoying what you do
Growing the client base
In the office work vs working remotely
Jekaterina’s advice who people who feel stuck
Jekaterina’s resource recommendations
Links:
Jekaterina's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jekaterina-kokatjuhha/
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html

Feb 3, 2023 • 56min
Navigating Career Changes in Machine Learning - Chris Szafranek
We talked about
Chris’s background
Switching careers multiple times
Freedom at companies
Chris’s role as an internal consultant
Chris’s sabbatical
ChatGPT
How being a generalist helped Chris in his career
The cons of being a generalist and the importance of T-shaped expertise
The importance of learning things you’re interested in
Tips to enjoy learning new things
Recruiting generalists
The job market for generalists vs for specialists
Narrowing down your interests
Chris’s book recommendations
Links:
Lex Fridman: science, philosophy, media, AI (especially earlier episodes): https://www.youtube.com/lexfridman
Andrej Karpathy, former Senior Director of AI at Tesla, who's now focused on teaching and sharing his knowledge: https://www.youtube.com/@AndrejKarpathy
Beautifully done videos on engineering of things in the real world: https://www.youtube.com/@RealEngineering
Chris' website: https://szafranek.net/
Zalando Tech Radar: https://opensource.zalando.com/tech-radar/
Modal Labs, new way of deploying code to the cloud, also useful for testing ML code on GPUs: https://modal.com
Excellent Twitter account to follow to learn more about prompt engineering for ChatGPT: https://twitter.com/goodside
Image prompts for Midjourney: https://twitter.com/GuyP
Machine Learning Workflows in Production - Krzysztof Szafanek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO4Gqd95j6k
From Data Science to DataOps: https://datatalks.club/podcast/s11e03-from-data-science-to-dataops.html
Free data engineering course: https://github.com/DataTalksClub/data-engineering-zoomcamp
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html
Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html

Jan 27, 2023 • 54min
Preparing for a Data Science Interview - Luke Whipps
We talked about:
Luke’s background
Luke’s podcast - AI Game Changers
How Luke helps people get jobs
What’s changed in the recruitment market over the last 6 months
Getting ready for the interview process
Stage “zero” – the filter between the candidate and the company
Preparing for the introduction stage – research and communication
Reviewing the fundamentals during preparation
Preparing for the technical part of the interview
Establishing the hiring company’s expectations
Depth vs breadth
Overly theoretical and mathematical questions in interviews
Bombing (failing) in the middle of an interview
Applying to different roles within the same company
Luke’s resource recommendations
Links:
Luke's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukewhipps/
Free data engineering course: https://github.com/DataTalksClub/data-engineering-zoomcamp
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html
Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html

Jan 20, 2023 • 51min
Indie Hacking - Pauline Clavelloux
We talked about:
Pauline’s background
Pauline’s work as a manager at IBM
What is indie hacking?
Pauline initial indie hacking projects
Getting ready for launch
Responsibilities and challenges in indie hacking
Pauline’s latest indie hacking project
Going live and marketing
Challenges with Unreal Me
Staying motivated with indie hacking projects
Skills Pauline picked up while doing indie hacking projects
Balancing a day job and indie hacking
Micro SaaS and AboutStartup.io
How Pauline comes up with ideas for projects
Going from an idea on paper to building a project
Pauline’s Twitter success
Connecting with Pauline online
Pauline’s indie hacking inspiration
Pauline’s resource recommendation
Links:
Website: https://wintopy.io/
Pauline's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Pauline_Cx
Pauline's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulineclavelloux/
Blog about Indiehacking: https://aboutstartup.io
Free data engineering course: https://github.com/DataTalksClub/data-engineering-zoomcamp
Join DataTalks.Club: https://datatalks.club/slack.html
Our events: https://datatalks.club/events.html