Prateek from India

MSc Big Data Analytics

Prateek from IndiaMy name is Prateek. I am from Delhi, India. I came to Ireland in September 2016 and spent my first year in Dublin. Now I am studying an MSc in Big Data Analytics at Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT).

Ireland is a great place to reside. The weather here is unpredictable. You can experience all four seasons in one day, if you are lucky! The whole country is so green. Its music and culture is renowned all over the world. All of the biggest tech and pharma, IT & Financial companies in the world have their European HQs in Ireland. The wit and goodwill of the Irish people is known all over the world. No matter how hard you look for this across the world it is only in Ireland itself that you will get the craic on a daily basis.

It has hundreds of amazing castles. Ireland is a country full of fresh air and outdoor lifestyle. The main reason that I chose LYIT is due to the course modules like Machine Learning, Data science & Business Intelligence. In addition the classes are small with on average 15-20 student per class – this really helps in terms of interaction with lecturers in classes. There are 3 semesters from Sept to May and all the semesters have two modules at one time so that students can easily understand and learn their modules. In other colleges, they have 2 semester per year and they provide four modules per semesters. That’s why I choose LYIT over the other institutes and universities.

Most importantly for me, the reason why LYIT is really good, is because at the end of all modules we have to submit projects, Labs & research papers, that really give hands on experience on all the new technologies and tools. I can use all the academic projects in my portfolio on my CV and it’s much better than read , remember , write & forget. There is a large supply of student accommodation and the rent is cheaper compared to other locations nationally and internationally. In Dublin it takes 25 to 30 days to find a room and the rents are higher. Letterkenny’s cost of living is €380 per month including (housing, food, bills), in Dublin its €580-600.

In Letterkenny there are big companies like Pramerica and Optum - they are based here so they hire many Computing graduates from LYIT. LYIT is an academic partner of Pramerica. There are number of sports and academic activities in LYIT. A large number of start-up companies are here on the college campus and working in Co-Lab (business incubation centre located in LYIT).