Matthieu Chan Chee
Computer Science specialist (focus in AI), Statistics minor, Mathematics minor
St. Michael’s College
Why did you choose U of T for your undergrad?
I am from a small island in the Indian Ocean called Mauritius and aspired to come to Canada to further my passion for computer science while gaining new perspectives, both in the tech industry and from people coming from all around the world to study here. Toronto being one of the most prominent tech hubs in Canada, U of T was a natural first choice.
What inspired you to study computer science?
I love mathematics and found it truly beautiful how computer science allows us to apply math to the real world and build anything we want, with our sole limitation being our imagination.
Who or what at U of T influenced your education the most?
I would like to mention 3 factors that played a huge role during my time at U of T. Firstly, I would have never been able to afford studying at U of T if it were not for the Pearson Scholarship and am deeply grateful to the scholarship program and the team behind it. Second are some of my professors and TAs who were truly passionate about their field and who put in so much effort to give students an amazing learning experience. Third are my friends through whom I learnt different ways of thinking, be it inside or outside the classroom.
How did you get involved at U of T outside of your coursework?
I was a TA for MAT136 (Calculus) during my 2nd year and truly enjoyed interacting with my students during tutorials! I also worked on object detection models at aUToronto (U of T's self-driving car team), which came out champions of North America at the SAE International AutoDrive Challenge and I was part of U of T's team which came out world champions at the ProjectX 2020 machine learning research competition. Outside of academics, I was an Orientation leader for St. Michael’s College, led kung-fu training at U of T's Traditional Chinese Martial Arts Club, and was U of T's Head of Delegation at CUSEC 2021, the Canadian University Software Engineering Conference.
What U of T memory do you treasure the most?
I've made some really good friends at U of T and what I treasured the most was simply hanging out with them.
If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice at the start of your undergraduate degree, what would it be?
Don't be afraid to (1) try new things, and (2) say you don't know/understand something. More often than not, people around you will be happy to help, or at least point you in the right direction.
Is there a lesson you learned as an undergraduate student that you’ll take with you moving forward?
The only way of making 100% sure you'll fail is if you don't try.
What’s next for you?
I am very excited to say I'll be joining AMD to work full-time on deep learning!