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Many quants start with degrees in computer science, mathematics, or statistics. Hafsa Imtiaz chose industrial chemistry instead.

During her undergraduate studies, she gained hands-on experience in chemical testing and instrumentation at the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority and the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. She also worked in the textile industry.

“These experiences helped me build discipline, precision, and a strong understanding of how scientific data drives real-world decision-making,” Hafsa says.

As her interest in technology and computational problem-solving increased, she began learning programming languages like Python and Java. Her focus soon turned to software development, data science, and artificial intelligence.

“This transition was gradual and driven by curiosity about how algorithms and data can solve complex problems beyond traditional laboratory science,” she says.

To strengthen her foundation, Hafsa enrolled in the Computer Vision Lab at WorldQuant University. The free, online certificate program includes six self-paced projects with real-world datasets. Hafsa implemented and compared convolutional neural network architectures to analyze everything from traffic patterns to crop disease.

“This experience became an important milestone in my journey,” Hafsa says. “I gained practical experience in data preprocessing, model training, evaluation, and performance optimization. More importantly, I developed a structured approach to solving AI problems and interpreting results in a meaningful way.”

Hafsa also completed a postgraduate diploma in data science with artificial intelligence and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in the same field. Her goal is to combine her knowledge of chemistry with data science and artificial intelligence to contribute to the health care.

“I aim to explore areas such as medical data analysis, drug discovery, and AI-driven diagnostics to create meaningful impact,” she says.

Hafsa also gives back to WorldQuant University as one of seven Global Alumni Ambassadors in Pakistan.