What do Bachelor of Science students during their third year? Let's find out!
Could you please introduce yourself ?
My name is Yi Yao Tan, my friends just call me Yao. I’m Malaysian but I’ve lived in USA, China,
Malaysia, and France for a couple of years each. I’m doing Mathematics and Computer Science
and am in my third year at Ecole Polytechnique.
Why did you choose the Bachelor of Science of Ecole Polytechnique?
I chose this program since I wanted a program that would be challenging enough to push me to
grow with a decent amount of content in mathematics and a diverse range of scientific subjects
especially in the first year.
Could you tell us how the third year is going ?
Since I enjoy the math courses, the third year is quite enjoyable and the professors teach well.
Do you have a favourite course?
I enjoy Topology in math and Complexity Theory in computer science as they’re more intuitive
than the other courses for me, and I have decided to continue pursuing theoretical computer
science and mathematics.
What would be a great memory of your third year in the Program that you would like to
share with future students?
This year as I was captain of the team of Institut Polytechnique Paris students in volleyball. I
enjoyed the most getting together a team of awesome guys to reach the finals of Coupe de l’X. I
also enjoyed the weekly games we’d play at different schools as part of the year-long season
hosted by FFSU.
What are your ambitions for the future?
Next year I’ll be doing theoretical computer science in an MSc in Mathematics and Foundations
of Computer Science at the Mathematical Institute at the University of Oxford. I’m keen on
pursuing research perhaps in complexity theory or theoretical machine learning and perhaps
curious in exploring algorithmic game theory. I hope to pursue a PhD there, but who knows if I
might stumble upon something else interesting on the way.
Any piece of advice to future Bachelor students that you would like to share?
Upon entering first year, it might be rather daunting that most people are from the top of their
class in the top schools in their country. However, I learned well that as long as you work
consistently you’ll see yourself progress in the three years here and start to thrive. Aside from
that, professors, researchers, and upperclassmen are rather approachable here, make good
use of them as they’re resourceful and give good advice for whatever you might do in the future.