Today is our last full day in Cyprus, before we depart back to Larnaca airport and the USA. Today we went back to Nicosia for some lectures in the morning. First Dr. Trihinas, a professor at the University of Nicosia spoke to us about the expanding field of data science and machine learning. Something he said, that other people in his field have agreed upon, is that data is the new “oil” of the world. Accurate and descriptive data is highly sought after by companies and governments alike to utilize for their specific purposes. Companies who can successfully extract and manipulate data have an edge in the business world. He said that just having data in its raw for is useless, and that people or smart machines are need to transform and extract information from a dataset. Three key things that an effective data scientist needs is hacking skills, substantiated expertise, and math and statistical knowledge. All of these skills combined feeds into the larger field of data science. Within the field of data science, there is data analytics, which consists of descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive measures. I thought it was interesting that he said most companies today are seeking out was to improve their prescriptive data analytics. Many companies are looking at I and machine learning as a way to find recommendations to complex solutions, which is prescriptive data analytics. Machine learning is being used as a viable method of data analysis. First, a machine must undergo a learning phase, where both an input and output of something is given to the machine and a model is received afterwards. Then, the system undergoes a testing and inference phase where you get an actual representative model of your situation. We learned that the training phase is vital to creating a successful model, and too much or too little of the learning stage can create skewed results. I think the biggest takeaway that I have is that machine learning is an ever evolving technology. It continues to change and become more accurate overtime, however the models produced are not an exact science, they are only a potential representation of our world produced by the data set. This an exciting time to live in with machine learning and AI on the horizon!

After the data science lecture and a demonstration by UNIC student, the CEO of UNIC came to talk to us about databases, cryptocurrency, blockchain, NFTs and other related digital currencies. Before this lecture, I had heard of blockchain and crypto, but I was not really sure what they were. UNIC is known for being the first university in the world to offer a degree in cryptocurrency and blockchain, so it was exciting to get some insight into the academic side of this new digital innovation. Our speaker explained the importance of databases and how the world’s databases are condensing and centralizing. Simultaneously, these databases are becoming larger with more users and information to handle. This concentrates data into the hands of a few large companies around the world. We learned that blockchain is a “public” database, where everyone owns the data together. On blockchain, data cannot be changed once it has entered the blockchain since it is a community or public database. This is an interesting and new concept, since most databases we usually encounter are privately owned or monitored. This seems like a complex and evolving topic, and I hope to encounter more uses of blockchain in the world.

After morning lectures, we returned back to our hotel in the afternoon. I went out to lunch with the group, and we chatted about the trip. Afterwards, I did a walk around the old city and took a few extra photos. I pet a cat (I will be sad that there are no roaming cats at home!!) and picked up a few last minute souvenirs for my family. Tonight we have our final dinner, and we will be joined by our amazing tour guide again! Cyprus has been an awesome experience, and unlike anything I have ever experienced in my life before. These two weeks have undoubtedly caused me to grow in my professional life while also testing my ability to adapt to a new culture and be resilient. I hope to come back to Cyprus again one day!