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The Ultimate Course on Problem-Solving: Professor Sriram Sankaranarayanan Talks Algorithms

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The University of Colorado Boulder faculty member teaches the Foundations of Data Structures and Algorithms specialization, which serves as a performance-based pathway into either the computer science or data science master鈥檚 program.

[Featured image] University of Colorado Boulder professor Sriram Sankaranarayanan.

Learning how to code in the days before the internet often took a bit more work. , a professor of computer science at the , recalled the effort it took to track down that information in his native India. 鈥淚 remember finding books in the library, but they weren鈥檛 very useful because they were out of date by that point,鈥 he said.聽

Throughout middle and high school, Sankaranarayanan鈥攚ho teaches CU Boulder鈥檚 Foundations of Data Structures and Algorithms specialization鈥攅xplored what he could of the subject with the help of a few teachers, but it wasn鈥檛 until he attended university that he really got the education he needed to flourish. If anything, it stoked his appetite for more.聽

But as Sankaranarayanan considered applying to PhD programs in other countries, he once again came up against the limits of available information. At the PhD stage, it鈥檚 crucial to identify the right faculty advisor to work with so you can align your research interests. Even though most universities had websites, many professors didn鈥檛 yet have faculty pages. 鈥淲e take these things for granted now, but knowledge was hard to get your hands on when I was a student,鈥 he explained.聽

The key turned out to be a textbook Sankaranarayanan discovered while studying for a major undergraduate computer science exam. 鈥淚 went to the library and saw that a professor from Stanford had written this wonderful textbook that explained everything we were learning in class,鈥 he said. He was so impressed that he applied to Stanford to work with that professor鈥攁nd was accepted.聽

Now a faculty member himself, Sankaranarayanan serves a fundamental role in CU Boulder鈥檚 online and master鈥檚 programs by teaching algorithms. 鈥淎lgorithms have always been the subject that I really enjoy teaching,鈥 he said.

When students successfully complete the first three courses in the Foundations of Data Structures and Algorithms specialization, they gain full admission into either online master鈥檚 degree program, and that coursework counts toward their degree progress. It鈥檚 all part of the unique performance-based admission the university offers in partnership with 糖心vlog官网观看. Rather than submit a formal application, students can prove their knowledge in pre-selected courses鈥攁ll of which count as degree credit once they enroll.

Even though Sankaranarayanan鈥檚 academic research is in a different area, he still loves the potent possibilities bound up in algorithms. 鈥淭o me, it鈥檚 a bunch of interesting problem-solving recipes,鈥 he explained. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like, I have this jumble of things that are all unsorted. I would like to sort them, but every time I do it my hands hurt so I have to minimize the number of times I move my hands. How do I do that?鈥澛

Undergirding that problem-solving endeavor is the fundamental mathematics of algorithms, which for some students approaching the material for the first time, or returning to school after years in the workforce, might feel daunting. But Sankaranarayanan reviews important concepts in ways that mirror how he first came to understand them. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have to dumb anything down,鈥 he said about building the material for an online global audience. 鈥淓very time I felt like I needed to explain something, I鈥檝e managed to explain it down to the last bit of detail.鈥澛

Students who encounter Sankaranarayanan鈥檚 online courses say they walk away feeling grounded in material that could otherwise seem overwhelming. Data science master鈥檚 student Stanislov Liashkov said, 鈥淚 really felt all of those labs were designed well.鈥澛

However, it鈥檚 important for Sankaranarayanan that students not just grasp the curriculum, but feel challenged by it as well. 鈥淧roblem-solving is a muscle,鈥 he explained. 鈥淪ome people are born more muscular. But for others, if you lift those weights, those muscles will get trained. You have to solve really difficult problems and engage with that process鈥攖hat makes you better at computer science.鈥澛

In a major leap from Sankaranarayanan's experience as a computer science student, his teaching methods now reach a global audience鈥攁nd students are finding success. 鈥淚t鈥檚 super exciting for me, to see students take these classes and do well,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 feel blessed that I'm able to reach out to so many students around the world. It鈥檚 been a great experience in that way.鈥澛犅

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