Building Practical Skills
Solving Real Problems with Real Data
A blend of academics, research, and real-world experience is what makes the Master of Data Science at Illinois Tech special, says Laasya Priya Vemuri. A combination of curiosity, courage, and accountability shapes students into skilled and thoughtful people.
Laasya Priya Vemuri (M.A.S. DSC 2nd Year)The biggest benefit that Laasya Priya Vemuri (M.A.S. DSC 2nd Year) found as part of Illinois Tech’s Master of Data Science degree program was how strongly it connects theory with real application. Combine that with its emphasis on responsibility and independence, and Laasya found a data science program that will help her achieve her career goals.
“I didn’t want my education to stay confined to textbooks or slides,” she says. “Projects feel real. Assignments feel purposeful. I am learning how to turn raw data into insight and insight into decisions. It has made me more confident in my abilities and more thoughtful in how I approach problems.”
She says her academic experience has been intense, challenging, and deeply rewarding as she has been pushed to think critically and apply what she’s learned immediately.
“It’s not about memorizing formulas,” she says. “It’s about understanding why something works and how it can be used responsibly.”
Laasya is seeing how data can be used responsibly as part of an interdisciplinary research team through the SoReMo initiative. She says working on The People vs. Hasty AI research project was her first true research experience where she wasn’t following instructions but was also thinking about impact, responsibility, and consequences.
It pushed her to ask deeper questions about how data is used and who it affects.
“It was the first time I felt that my technical work had a social responsibility attached to it,” she says. “I remember realizing that data science is not neutral. The choices we make as modelers affect people, communities, and systems.”
The People vs. Hasty AI project examines how quick and inefficient solutions made while artificial intelligence systems are developed can affect the environment and stress power grids, as well as assessing corporate responsibility, including the lack of transparency in how the development of AI systems drive high energy bills and affect air and water quality.
“SoReMo made me feel both responsible and empowered,” she says. “Responsible because I became more aware of the weight behind every model and assumption. Empowered because I understood that I could be part of building systems that respect fairness, transparency, and impact. That experience didn’t just teach me skills; it shaped my values.”
As a summer intern at Springer Capital, Laasya worked in a professional environment where data was tied to real decisions. Seeing how her analysis developed business strategy made her education feel purposeful, she says, and showed her data’s power when it is handled carefully and thoughtfully.
Laasya says that she believes her Illinois Tech education will help her achieve her career goal to build systems that are thoughtful, ethical, and centered around people. She says that she wants to work in spaces where technology is used to improve decision-making while respecting fairness and transparency.
“Whether it’s through research, industry, or future projects, I want to create solutions that feel human,” she says. “I want my work to be something I’m proud of not just technically, but morally, too. Illinois Tech showed me that impact starts with intention, and I plan to carry that with me everywhere I go.”