Why did you choose to study at LUMS?

I chose LUMS because they offered a dual master’s program in partnership with my French engineering school, which was a great opportunity to enhance my coding and analytical skills. I was also eager to experience life in the UK and explore a new culture, so it seemed like the ideal choice.

What was the best thing about your course?

The best part of my course was definitely the accessibility of the teachers — they were always approachable and ready to help. On top of that, the projects were interesting for building skills and boosting confidence, as they gave us hands-on experience and real-world applications.

What inspired you most at LUMS and why?

What inspired me most at LUMS was the drive to make the most of my final academic years and my eagerness to learn. My master’s thesis, in particular, was a huge motivator — it was exciting to take on a three-month project from scratch, which ultimately resulted in a paper publication and the incredible opportunity to attend a conference.

Did you do a project, placement or study abroad? What did this involve and what did you gain?

I worked on a project for my master’s thesis that ended up being published as a research paper. The project was inspired by Kiwi.com’s Travelling Salesman Problem 2.0, which is a more complex version of the classic Travelling Salesman Problem, incorporating constraints like time, asymmetry, and infeasibility due to limited flight availability. To tackle this, I implemented a Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) algorithm, which is traditionally used in board games but was adapted for air travel optimization. The project taught me a lot about solving NP-Hard problems and applying heuristic methods to real-world challenges. It also significantly boosted my problem-solving and technical skills while giving me a chance to attend a conference to present the findings.

Which parts of your Lancaster experience were the best preparation for your job?

Having hands-on experience of various projects.