NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Class of 2022 student and electrical engineering major Uljad Berdica, has been selected as a 2022 UAE Rhodes Scholar, the prestigious international award that allows outstanding students to carry out their postgraduate studies at the UK’s University of Oxford. Each year, a class of approximately 100 Scholars is selected from over 60 countries around the world with NYUAD having produced a total of 17 Rhodes scholars in nine years.
Berdica from Albania, participated in many projects in Mathematics, Engineering, and Biology and helped develop open-source tools for the research community; an intuitive software to help neurobiologists analyze a large number of image data automatically, as well as a machine learning software to improve manual detection performance and accuracy. As a student assistant at the Integrated BioElectronics Lab at NYU Abu Dhabi, Berdica has also contributed towards programming a Dehydration Measurement Device for Workers in Extreme Conditions as part of a six-month research project.
The Rhodes Scholarship is a unique opportunity to explore cutting-edge solutions to impactful problems and to put those solutions in nuanced perspectives. In a world where the message is shaped by the medium more than ever, I believe the Oxford education along with the Rhodes experience will help me navigate the intersection between technology, performing arts, and public discourse while being the most technically proficient engineer I can be.
Established in 1902, the Rhodes Scholarship is one of the world’s oldest and most recognizable awards for international fellowship and academic study. Applicants are selected through an intensive process including a written application and in-person interviews.
