The AI enthusiast learning IT to improve lives

Raxa Travadi gazes reflectively out over the Lerwick UHI campus. She recently recovered from breast cancer and her growing interest in IT is proof that learning new skills can significantly change a person’s life direction and redefine future ambitions.

Originally from a non-technical background, Raxa’s venture into IT was sparked by her desire to understand more about a field that continuously shapes the modern world.

"Coming from no IT background at all to feeling comfortable to sit an exam was quite a big achievement for me," Raxa says about completing her first year of an HNC. The modular nature of her course, progressing from HNC to HND and then to a full degree, will allow Raxa to build her knowledge, providing a solid foundation in the basics before moving on to more complex concepts.

Raxa’s motivation to study IT, particularly her interest in artificial intelligence (AI), is deeply intertwined with her health journey. Following a breast cancer diagnosis, she experienced firsthand the potential for technology to revolutionise healthcare.

She recalls: "I had my scan and for whatever reason, the cancer wasn't picked up then. By the time they did the actual biopsy, it was already stage three. And we were going into lockdown then. So they operated within two days. And, you know, I was sent off with all my drips and everything back home."

It’s hard to imagine how stressful this experience must have been. But instead of dwelling on the negatives, Raxa decided she wanted to avoid others experiencing something similar. “My interest is artificial intelligence’ she says. "AI can pick up cancer nodules at a much earlier stage than surgeons."

This insight has fuelled Raxa’s academic focus and her career aspirations, as she wants to contribute to technology that could save lives.

‘For example, if you have an AI model, you can feed in data which are slides of cancer. It takes two surgeons to look at the slides to agree between them that, yes, that is actually a cancer nodule, whereas AI can go through hundreds of slides very quickly.

"There are definite advantages to having AI in certain places where you can improve people's lives."

Before moving to Shetland, Raxa was a police officer in London. Shetland’s natural beauty and supportive community have played a crucial role in Raxa's choice to study here.

She says: "I like Shetland’s openness. The people are generally very friendly, and you've got lots of places to to go and walk, because wherever you go, you're not going to be very far from the sea. And I really like the tranquil air of being by the sea, it's very peaceful.’

Raxa puts her new-found feeling of contentment down to her life in Shetland. ‘It’s not things that make you happy. It's actually your surroundings, where you are, that will make you happy.

"I can sit on a bench, watching the boats, and it's so tranquil that you actually get lost in your thoughts."

She has also been inspired by the learning environment afforded her by UHI. She says: "The hospital saved my life physically. But the college saved my life mentally. I had to have four different types of chemo. And chemo affects the brain cells, it has a massive effect on how you think or are not able to think after it. In other words, your neural pathways are forged and set in their ways.

"After chemo, it’s almost like the motorway you’ve been travelling along has closed down. And now you have to find a different route. If you don't do anything to forge new pathways, then you get stuck. I had to do something."

Raxa’s IT course has helped her to forge new neural pathways, through coursework and projects which she has found both challenging and rewarding.

Engaging with practical projects like programming an Arduino remote control car, she applied her theoretical knowledge and explored programming languages independently.

"Once you learn one programming language, another one becomes very easy to pick up because the concepts are the same.

"It's just little, nuances of differences in how to do a function. If you want to repeat something several times you use loops, for example. And when you use a loop in one language, you can use that loop in a different language and the concept will be the same."

Raxa’s lecturers have provided supportive mentorship as well as technical insight.

She says: “The lecturers are experts in their field. They know coding inside out. They know the languages really well. They know networking really well. They know hardware really well. The college is set up in a way that you can experience all of those things because they have the lab facility you can go and tinker with, figuring out which things work or don't work.’

This supportive educational environment has been vital, allowing Raxa to experiment and learn in a hands-on manner that has enhanced her understanding of the material.

Raxa’s UHI Shetland journey illustrates that you can overcome personal adversities and achieve significant educational and professional goals.