How to get into 2nd phase of Udacity Nanodegree Scholarship programs?

I bagged 3 Udacity scholarships namely Secure and Private AI Scholarship Challenge then Intel® Edge AI Scholarship Program and after that Machine Learning Scholarship program for Microsoft Azure . Now i have good understanding of what helped me to won 3 scholarships and want to share with those who want to get into 2nd phase and complete Nanodegree with out spending penny .

Table of Content:

• My own experience as Nanodegree scholar
• How it helped me to upskill myself and make better project portfolio?
• Why many scholars give up and feel out of Program challenge?
• General Selection criteria for 2nd phase
• Important things to keep in mind while participating in Slack community
• Impotant advice for AWS ML schoarship program

My own experience as Nanodegree scholar

I was googling same thing 2 years ago when i was in 3rd year of Bachelor of Technology. Secure and Private AI Scholarship Challenge Program was my first scholarship and i got acceptance email on May 31, 2019.

I was happy to see many scholars from all ove world at one place, great knowledge sharing and easy resources access , instant help by peers etc.

But i found there was around 10,000 scholars and out of which only 300 seats were available for 2nd phase that is 300 scholars will have access to Nanodegree progarm and certificate. In first phase only foundational program is accessible. No certificate of foundational course completion.

I have never seen such active community and huge participation. At first huge gap in between no of scholars in challenge and seats for next phase made me disappointed but then i thought to focus on learning and participation.

How it helped me to upskill myself and make better project portfolio?

I completed 9 projects only from 3 Nanodegrees which helped me to standout my resume having good projects while applyting for job. This helped me to have better understanding of computer vision and machine learning. Learning from other scholars as well as strong bonding with lots of connections on LinkedIn. From slack community I got to know about schoalrship program by Dataquest for Data science. I apied for same and comleted 2 tracks of Data Science and Data Analytics which also helped me in upskilling Data Science subjects. Now you have better understanding of how it is helpful specifically for collegiates who wants to pursue career in AI or Data Science or any professional who wants to upskill or switch career in AI related domain.

Why many scholars give up and feel out of Program challenge?

Such huge number of scholars make many other feel to give up beacuse many scholars are all time active and heavily participate in everything in community. Many scholars are working professional and can not afford much time in slack community which is one reason for giving up.

Generally Selection criteria for 2nd phase:

Foundational course completion on Udacity + Slack community participation

Complete the foundational course on Udacity and participate in initiatives organised by slack community reguraly. According to my experience slack participation have more weightage for selection of next phase scholars means those scholars who actively participate in slack community activities are more likely to get selected.

Important things to keep in mind while participatng in Slack community

• Actively participate in #60daysofUdacity or #30days of udacity initiative also encourage those who have not started yet this initiative. How to find who have not started yet ? To find such scholars just type @ in channel and any type random letters combination which shows names and not in this channel information. see image for better understanding

• Must participate in final capstone project challenge

It is organised by scholars themselves or by Udacity. Generally best projects get mention and recognition from Udacity and Google. Don’t miss this activity.

• Stick with one study group

You should try to remain active at least in one study group, also don’t forget to fill form for creating your own study group if you are willing and have few more scholars interested in same topic. Generlaly study groups are formed according to study topic or specific location, country wise.

• Participate and organise programs

You can organise webinars or virtual meet up where you can share or teach anything you are good at. You can also try to be part of organising team instead of participating in initiative.

• Apply for channel leader or volunteer

In specific channel you manage and help other scholars for easy access of resources, organise programs such as starting useful thread for involvement of scholars.

• Communicate personally (DM) if required

Don’t hesitate to have personal conversation with any scholar. As many are there researcher, experienced too. But keep in mind to repect them.

• Do help other peers and be active 1 hour daily on slack

You should try to be active at least 1 hour in slack community , do reply to questions of others in your relevant channels, start useful thread, discussion in study groups, planing any activity etc.

Curently Scholarship available : https://www.udacity.com/scholarships/aws-machine-learning-scholarship-program

Important advice for AWS ML scholarship program

No slack participation in this program, only course completion and quiz to assess for next phase. So it’s good for working proffessionals or those who don’t have time for slack participation. Just learn attentively course and attempt quiz in minimum time with maximum right answers.

Be Consistent, Active and Patient in slack community for 3 months to get selected into 2nd phase. Focuse on learning and participation.

Thank you for reading, let me know in comments if i missed something to mention or any advice.