Post by Alexander Stupnicki

Early last year, learning simple ‘if else’ statements in Python, vectors and Bayesian statistics felt like learning Mandarin. Everything was the complete opposite of pre-clinical medicine, all based on conceptual understanding and critical problem-solving, rather than rote memorisation. I wanted to prove to myself that I could take on something completely outside my comfort zone. I’m, therefore, very grateful to have been awarded the Dean’s List Prize for the highest academic performance in the cohort and to have been nominated for the Dean’s Research Prize for excellence in research. This wouldn’t be possible without the trust and guidance of Nikolas Pontikos and Lynn Kandakji, as well as Oscar Earle, who made the whole journey so much more enjoyable (although that 4am computing project still haunts me to this day)