My experience with Amazon ML Summer School 2023
Hello ML enthusiasts!
Hope you are doing well! I am writing this article to share my experience in Edition 3 of Amazon ML Summer School in 2023, an invaluable learning opportunity for all of us who are seeking career in AI. I will keep it as clear and detailed as possible, yet if you have any questions feel free to drop comment. You may skip to my experience section if you are already familiar with this cohort !!
About
Amazon ML Summer School, launched in 2021, offers an intensive program designed to equip students with essential Machine Learning (ML) skills. The curriculum covers key ML topics such as Supervised Learning, Deep Neural Networks, Generative AI and LLMs, Dimensionality Reduction, and Unsupervised Learning. Students benefit from in-depth knowledge and practical insights provided by Amazon’s experienced ML scientists, enhancing their understanding and preparation for a career in ML.
This program is a unique opportunity for students to interact with ML experts and engage in breakthrough innovations. By offering a platform for direct learning and interaction, Amazon ML Summer School helps students transition from academic learning to professional applications, building a strong foundation for future challenges in the ML field. The program is an excellent stepping stone for those aspiring to make a significant impact in Machine Learning, fostering a diverse and talented pool of future ML professionals.
Eligibility : Engineering students enrolled in Bachelor’s/Master’s/ PhD degree from any recognized institute of India and are expected to graduate in 2025 or 2026 are eligible to enroll in ML Summer School 2024. (ie. for 3rd edition, students graduating in 2024 or 2025 were eligibe)
Other Details : If selected, the Summer School 2024 is completely virtual and free of cost, also it wouldn’t hamper any ongoing courses as they are usually conducted on weekends and you would get recorded sessions too. Based on 3rd Edition, those who successfully complete the Amazon ML Summer school could get chance to participate in the recruitment drive for Applied Scientist Intern (for 2026 graduates) and Applied Scientist Full time role (for 2025 graduates). Hence as a personal opinion, it’s a golden chance with hands-on learning from top-notch Scientists from Amazon, for kickstarting career in ML along with chance (participate in hiring process) to work at the very Amazon with handsome package; provided AI is career choice.
Registrations
Registrations for Amazon ML Summer School 2024 begins on 30 May 2024 and deadline is 21 June 2024. The link to apply for Amazon ML Summer School 2024 is : https://xathon.mettl.com/event/amazonmlsummerschool?utm_source=Splashpage&utm_medium=Amazon . For entire timeline, visit the website : https://amazonmlsummerschoolindia.splashthat.com/
My experience
In the application, along with the personal and professional details, details about previously done projects and published research work in domain of ML are asked. It won’t affect your candidature but having either would be a bonus. I had projects but no published work. Proficiency in ML is also asked which should be filled honestly. I recieved an acknowledgement once I registered.Two days prior to assessment, I recieved test link along with format of test.
Online Assessment
As stated in mail, in assessment of 3rd edition, Part A had 20 MCQ which consisted of all type of questions viz. easy, medium and hard. Most of them were easily doable with good understanding of the High-School Math (11th–12th grade). Part B consisted of 2 Programming questions viz. (i) To find Minimum cost to reach destination and (ii) To Calculate mean, median & mode. Total duration was 75 minutes.
The Selection
Finally, after 5 days, the results were declared and I got a mail stating I was selected for the Amazon ML Summer School 2023 along with the topics to be discussed in the sessions, followed by which another mail was recieved providing detailed and complete schedule of all sessions.
The Sessions
Sessions will be conducted virtually by various people working at Amazon especially in the domain of ML. Each session may be taken by one or more persons and typically each session is of 2.5 hours following which there is a QnA session of 1 hour. In order to attend and ensure your attendance is acknowledged we need to complete registration for each session and QnA. The recordings are available and can be referred anytime later. The recordings are available even now, after 1 year for me. Timely reminders will be sent to the registered mail regarding the sessions. They understand as applicants are students and would have academic activities going on during week-days and hence the sessions are held on weekends.
Concepts Covered
During the 3rd Edition; Supervised Learning, Deep Neural Networks, Dimensionality Reduction, Unsupervised Learning, Probabilistic Graphical Models, Sequential Learning, Causal Inferencing, Reinforcement Learning were covered in the 8 sessions respectively. In 4th edition, specific sessions on LLM is anticipated. Each concept is well-explained in the session along with real world example and how amazon applies them. Though many of you including me have covered the topics previously, these sessins provide a different perspective on those concepts; industrial perspective to be precise. Hence I highly recommend not to skip those sessions and be proactive in QnA session too, never hesitate to ask a question xD.
Farewell
Well, the sessions went pretty well, they ended with survey and I recieved the goodies, and the acknowledgement letter that I have successfully completed the Amazon Summer School 2023 (1 month after the cohort ended). Regarding the goodies, we were asked to claim our goodies from Your Design Store website almost 11 days after the cohort started. We recieved it after the summer school ended. I guess it varies based on delivery location.
The Detailed Timeline of Edition 3
Registration-05/09; Online Assessment Link n Instructions-07/09; Online Assessment-09/09; Result-14/09; Schedule-15/09; Cohort begins-16/09; Ordering/Claiming Goodies-27/09; Cohort Ends-08/10; Program Closure-09/10; Hiring Interest Survey-06/11; ML Summer School Ack Letter-08/11. For detailed timeline of Edition 4,refer https://amazonmlsummerschoolindia.splashthat.com/
Preperation Tips
As said earlier, high school math and engineering math courses are sufficient for cracking the MCQs. A clear understanding of concepts is required. Practise them for speed. Especially Probability and Statistics, Linear Algebra are utmost important, as they are foundation for any ML Algorithm. Practise Easy and Medium questions on Leetcode focussing on arrays and math oriented questions. Along with time taken to solve, the approach to solution is also considered for selection based on my experience.
The oppurtunity to participate in recruitment process
Finally one day, a month after the cohort ended we recieved a survey regarding interest in hiring process of Amazon for Applied Scientist roles (for me, Intern). I filled that I am interested and hence participated in the recruitment process.
I Hope this article details everything about my experience during the Amazon ML Summer School 2023 (3rd edition). Feel free to ask anything in the comment section, I will be happy to answer. If you find this article helpful, increase outreach by liking (claps) and commenting. Share to fellow ML Enthusiasts to utilize this oppurtunity. Another article on hiring process would be published soon. Stay tuned !!
All the best y’all !! Feel free to connect on Linkedin to discuss.
-Ravi
