Ruchi Singh

By Margie Low  |  Cal State LA News Service

 

From promoting childhood education to improving company strategy and customer service, Ruchi Singh sees the vast potential of using data to improve lives.

“I have a vision to use my knowledge and passion to solve real-life problems using data science,” Singh says. “I believe that by analyzing the data being collected will help make better business decisions, equip children to learn and elders to live comfortably.”

The West Los Angeles resident graduated with honors in May with a Master of Science in Information Systems from Cal State LA.

Born and raised in India, Singh traces her interest in computers to when she was a little girl. She remembers playing “Snake,” an early mobile phone game. Intrigued by the technology behind it, she eagerly took an introduction to computer science class in school and created her own computer game.

Singh’s fascination with computer programming continued. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the Mody Institute of Technology and Science, and then secured a full-time job as a systems engineer for an information technology company.

During the four years she worked in IT, she developed a keen interest in data analytics, systems and software used by businesses for workflow, accounting, procurement, project management and manufacturing.

When her husband was offered a job opportunity in Los Angeles three years ago, Singh decided to pursue a master’s degree in information systems at Cal State LA.

Singh chose Cal State LA because of its accredited state program and because of “its perfect blend of courses in computer science, project management and enterprise resource planning systems.”

In her time at the university, she has focused much of her studies on using data science to explore ideas and create solutions that improve existing business models.

Singh excelled in her graduate program, presenting research papers at international and state conferences, such as the 19th International Conference on Electronic Commerce in South Korea, the 2017 Women in Data Science Conference, and the 26th Annual Cal State LA Student Symposium on Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities. She was also a member of the High Performance Information Computing Center at Cal State LA.

Singh coauthored a paper, “Applications of Machine Learning Models for Yelp Local Business Data,” that has been submitted for publication in the International Journal of Business Analytics.

For two quarters, Singh was a global information security analyst intern with the Walt Disney Company. She also implemented a training tutorial for cloud-based big data company Databricks.

Singh was awarded a scholarship to participate in the 2017 Teradata PARTNERS Conference in Anaheim, CA, last fall. Teradata is a leading data and analytics company. The conference was the premiere customer-led global data and analytics event for visionaries, change agents, industry leaders, and practitioners.

Singh also found time to develop her own projects. A skills app she created aims to help children become more inquisitive and productive. The program is currently being considered for Amazon’s Alexa, the voice-controlled virtual assistant.

Singh credits mentoring and support from knowledgeable faculty members, such as Professor Jongwook Woo and Professor Arun Aryal, with successfully guiding her and other students through the graduate program. She was recently recognized for her academic accomplishments during the 2017-18 Graduate Student and Faculty Mentor Recognition Reception at Cal State LA.

After graduation, Singh plans to enter the workforce to apply her skills and experience in new and innovative ways.

 

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