Deyan Dyankov

After several years in employment, Deyan Dyankov decided to study for a master’s in Computer Science at the University of Reading alongside his job at Vodafone, with the headquarters conveniently based closely to campus.

Having completed his BSc Computer Science in Bulgaria, Deyan gained valuable experience in a range of financial and tech companies, including Paysafe Group and Vodafone Group Enterprise. His roles centred on core computing skills, including database development, data science, IT Architecture, and big data analytics.

Deyan chose to study his master’s at Reading, hoping to accelerate his understanding of key trends and methods in computer science. The University’s location, in the heart of the UK’s digital tech sector, also suited Deyan’s requirements.

"I had a strong background in manipulating and managing data, but I felt like I was lacking theoretical knowledge of various data mining and machine learning methods. I wanted to make the move from managing data to representing knowledge and learning from experience/observations."

Staff within the Department of Computer Science at Reading utilise their research expertise, as well as industry insight, to inform students’ learning experiences, with the chance to engage with concepts of global interest.

Deyan found his experience to be “very rewarding.”

“The course was challenging in the best way possible. I strengthened my foundational skills and learned a lot of new methods and techniques.”

“When graduating I really felt like I had achieved something substantial. I was very satisfied with the quality of the modules, their applicability, and the way they were taught by the lecturers. I’m still in touch with some of the students and academics from our cohort.”

Today Deyan works as Director, Sustainability Risk Architecture and Innovation at UBS Investment Bank. He sees his master’s degree as being instrumental in helping him secure his latest position.

“The MSc degree definitely gave me a better understanding of pipelines related to data processing and predictive modelling. I see the position I currently hold as a direct consequence of having finished my master’s degree.”

Deyan is also still connected with academics at Reading, recently working with staff to publish papers at two different machine learning conferences.

Working in a fast-paced environment, Deyan is keen to ensure his personal development reflects this.

“I would like to further develop my skills and continue to be involved with research in the areas of machine learning and artificial intelligence.”

“I think that demand for data-savvy professionals will continue to grow for the foreseeable future, especially as artificial intelligence continues to be incorporated in more and more processes that already exist today.”

For now Deyan is enjoying the various challenges that come with validating predictive models in the global financial markets, with a passion to continue solving seemingly abstract problems that can lead to the development of practical products that affect our lives.

Read about the MSc Data Science and Advanced Computing course