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WorldQuant University instructor Titi Aiyanyo, PhD, likes challenges.

She left Nigeria in 2008 to study management information systems at American University in Washington, D.C., and struggled initially. During one particularly difficult course, she thought about switching to an easier major. Other classmates had the same idea, but the instructor gave a warning that stuck with Titi: “If you quit now, you will always quit in the future.”

Titi finished the degree and added a Master of Science in Sustainability Management at American University. She also launched a business career but changed direction after a few years because her job felt too easy.

“I was looking for a challenge,” she says. “So, I decided to go back into the IT part and go into computer science.”

Staying in the United States or at least an English-speaking country would have made sense, but Titi decided to push herself and chose Korea University in Seoul, South Korea. During the next few years, she learned to speak Korean while taking graduate-level courses in Korean.

“I thought, where else should I go for a challenge?” she says. “So, I came to South Korea on a scholarship, and the story has just moved forward from there.”

Titi wrote her dissertation on natural language processing, specializing in textual inputs for AI chatbots like ChatGPT. She now has a PhD in computer science and works as a research professor at Korea University.

Titi also teaches in the Master of Science in Financial Engineering program at WorldQuant University. She says her initial attraction to WQU was the global mission.

“We have a large base of students from all over the world who are all pursuing the same thing: Education,” she says. “I love that.”

Titi especially loves sharing her knowledge with aspiring quants.

“I have worked in different fields, but I am loving more being a professor,” she says. “I see the rewards in people. By helping my students accomplish their dreams, I feel like my dreams are also accomplished.”

Watch on YouTube
Voices from the Field: Titi Aiyanyo (38:53)
The Joy of Teaching (0:53)
No Quit Mindset (1:27)
Titi Aiyanyo: Five Fun Facts (1:43)