UQAC

Université du Québec à Chicoutimi

Master's degree

Master's degree in computer science

AN UNFORGETTABLE YEAR IN QUEBEC

A rigorous approach

At UQAC, the emphasis is on research. There are lots of PhDs and the professors encourage us to explore this avenue. I discovered how scientific journals work, read hundreds of scientific articles on different subjects and learned how to analyze them. It's a vision of the professional world that I hadn't explored at ESILV and that's what led me to see more of it during my end-of-studies R&D internship at Saint-Gobain. The course weeks were surprisingly light (3 days a week). On the other hand, this meant doing a lot of work at home or in the library. As a result, I developed rigor and autonomy in the way I studied and worked. I really enjoyed this last year, both for the quality of some of the courses and for the relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. I also really enjoyed the superb scenery and the many outdoor activities, both sporting and otherwise. This experience has left its mark on me through the wonderful encounters I've made at the university and in my flat-share, in a house with 13 flatmates. Je me souviens, Québec!

Projects

AI

In the second quarter, I took a Data Mining course where I discovered algorithms such as Random Forest, Bayesian networks, and neural networks.
Fascinated by the subject, I then chose a Machine Learning course in the third quarter, where I explored reinforcement learning. Together with a roommate, we developed a multiplayer video game to integrate our AIs: his was based on a neural network, and mine on a variant of Q-Learning. I have fond memories of nights spent in the library optimizing our AIs (defining the right rewards, the right exploration ratio, etc.).
Here's a link to the GitHub project: https://github.com/NicolasHervelin/SolidWar/tree/GameWithRL4J

Stress management

This course on stress management in the workplace left a deep impression on me, thanks to a simple and powerful metaphor: that of the “pressure box” that everyone carries inside. This box contains our tensions, negative emotions and stress. There are three ways of dealing with it:

Say nothing (de-pression)
Impose our tensions on others (op-pression)
Communicate in a healthy way to lighten the load (ex-pression)

A clear, human and useful teaching tool for everyday life, both for yourself and your professional environment.

Perception of failure

In this course, we explored the perception of failure within a project team. Through a number of scientific studies, we have attempted to identify the levers that can be used to transform failure into a learning opportunity and strengthen team cohesion.