I am thrilled to announce that I have successfully completed the Foundations of Algorithms and Data Structures Specialization offered by the University of Colorado Boulder on Coursera. The specialization was excellently taught by Professor Sriram Sankaranarayanan and spanned five comprehensive courses. I embarked on this journey last year, and it has been an enriching experience.
Course Overview and Learnings
1. Algorithms for Searching, Sorting, and Indexing
This course laid the foundation for algorithm design and analysis. It covered:
- Basics of algorithm design and analysis
- Sorting arrays
- Data structures such as priority queues and hash functions
- Applications like Bloom filters
2. Trees and Graphs: Basics
This course delved into tree and graph data structures. Key topics included:
- Basic algorithms on tree data structures
- Binary search trees and self-balancing trees
- Graph data structures and traversal algorithms
- Advanced topics like kd-trees for spatial data and algorithms for spatial data
3. Dynamic Programming and Greedy Algorithms
In this course, I learned essential algorithm design techniques, including:
- Divide and conquer
- Dynamic programming
- Greedy algorithms
- Introduction to intractability (NP-completeness)
- Using linear/integer programming solvers for optimization problems
- Advanced topics in data structures
4. Approximate Algorithms and Linear Programming
This course focused on:
- Linear and integer programming formulations for solving algorithmic problems
- Applications in resource allocation, scheduling, task assignment, and the traveling salesperson problem
- Algorithms for NP-hard problems with guaranteed approximation factors
- Efficient algorithms providing useful bounds on optimal solutions
5. Advanced Data Structures, RSA, and Quantum Algorithms
The final course introduced:
- Number-theory based cryptography
- Basics of quantum algorithms
- Advanced data structures like B-Trees and Suffix Tries
Conclusion
Completing this specialization has been a significant milestone in my Data Science and Machine Learning/AI journey. I am excited to apply the knowledge and skills I have gained to future projects and challenges.
I highly recommend this specialization to anyone looking to deepen their understanding of algorithms and data structures. The courses are well-structured, and Professor Sriram Sankaranarayanan’s teaching is both clear and engaging.
I look forward to what the future holds and I am eager to continue my learning journey in the ever-evolving field of Data Science and AI.