Louise Drudy

Andrea Barraza

Ph.D. Student

Recommender Systems

I am a PhD Research student in the field of computer science, studying at the University of Galway and working at the Insight Centre for Data Analytics. I work at the Unit for Information Mining and Retrieval (UIMR) under the supervision of Dr. Conor Hayes.

My current research focuses on analyzing the role of exploration and exploitation in the area of Recommendation Systems. Specifically, I will aim to represent the Recommendation Systems as a reinforcement learning agent that is continuously obtaining information to refine its base knowledge.

I hold a Bachelor in Systems Engineering and a Master in Computer Science from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia.

I first came to work at the Insight Centre as a Master Student Intern in order to carry out my master thesis as a collaborative effort between the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and the Insight Centre. In my master thesis, I worked on the topic of Diversity for Recommender Systems.

My career ambition is to thrive as an Applied Research Scientist working on cutting-edge projects related to the areas I am most passionate about, which include but are not limited to: Recommendation Systems, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.