[Soft] Machine Learning Course: "It's really not so hard to get a start with it."

What was your motivation to take the Machine Learning Course?
My motivation to take the Machine Learning Course was, in the first place, curiosity. The field of Machine Learning is evolving rapidly, and I was curious to know a bit more about it. On top of that I wanted to get insight in Machine Learning tools that could possibly help me in my research, in particular in terms of data analysis.

How is the course going so far? What do you like about it?
Good! I like that the course is split up in different course blocks, such that we can take our own time in-between to let all the material sink in and try using the tools for our own applications. If we come across questions, problems or challenges on the way, we can contact the teachers of the course any time, which is very nice!

What project are you working on in the course?
I'm looking at microscopy videos of active colloids (i.e. tiny spheres that swim). The samples contain different populations of particles at various concentrations, which makes it challenging to extract quantitative data from it. With the Machine Learning tools we learn during the course I would like to track the particles and analyze their trajectories. I'm very curious to find out how Machine Learning compares to the standard algorithm-based approaches on this front.

What is the most important thing you learned in the first two sessions?
Besides the insights I gained in what machine learning actually is, the most important thing I learned is that there is a wide range of Machine Learning tools available in easy-to-use formats. It's really not so hard to get a start with it.

Anything you’d like to add?
Big thanks to the organisers and the teachers of the course! I'm really impressed by how well the course is set up.