Background & Career
Ekaba Bisong is from Bendeghe-Ekiem in Etung LGA, Ejagham Etung Cluster in Cross River State, Nigeria. Born to Prof. Francis and Prof. Nonso Bisong in Calabar, Cross River State in Nigeria.
Ekaba is currently a Data Science Lead at T4G in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He previously worked as a Data Scientist/ Data Engineer at Pythian in Ottawa, Canada. In addition, he maintains a relationship with the Intelligent Systems Labs at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada with a research focus on Learning Systems (encompassing learning automata and reinforcement learning), Machine Learning, and Deep Learning.
Mr. Ekaba Bisong is a Google Certified Professional Data Engineer, a Google Developer Expert in Machine Learning and author of the book “Building Machine Learning and Deep Learning Models on Google Cloud Platform” with Apress (Springer Nature) Publishers.
Mr. Ekaba Bisong research interests are in the theoretical and practical aspects of machine learning, the principles and algorithms that affect learning and how they are applied to specialized domains in making predictions, especially where there are rapid shifts in observable features as well as how mathematical principles, statistics and probabilistic reasoning can be applied to aid better decision making. He is also interested in researching the frontiers involving the synthesis of deep learning and reinforcement learning (what is now known as deep reinforcement learning), and how they can improve the learning task of an agent interacting in a non-deterministic, non-stationary environments (where exact mathematical analysis are no longer feasible), especially when the states of the environment are only partially observable.
Early Days
Ekaba is an old boy of Hope Waddell Training Institution (H.W.T.I), Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. Hope Waddel was established in 1894 and is the oldest school East of the Niger in Nigeria.
Ekaba went on to complete his Bachelor degree in Computer Science at Babcock University in Ogun State, Nigeria. He later obtained his Masters Degree in Computer Science at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.
The Message of the Book
This book seeks to equip the reader from the ground up with all the essential principles and tools for building learning models. Machine learning and deep learning is rapidly evolving, and often it is overwhelming and confusing for a beginner looking to delve into this field. Many have no clue where to start. This book is a one-stop shop that takes the beginner on a journey to state-of-the-art theoretical understanding and practical mastery without assuming any pre-requisite. Although this book is written with the beginner at heart, it is not ridiculously verbose and repetitive, but written in a direct and succinct manner that will appeal to experts and serve as a refresher for the core concepts.
Author’s Message to Ejagham Youths
We must be encouraged to persevere and to take personal responsibility for ourselves, our families and our communities. We persevere in hope and with courage because our efforts is not an effort in futility and our courage is not dialectical.
This notion of concrete hope and courage with meaning is firmly etched in the Christian worldview of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In all of history, there is no man that died and toady remains alive. All the central figures of all worldviews are dead or mythical. Only Jesus is alive. This is the anchor of our hope and our courage and our perseverance. So we live and move and have our being in Christ, by Faith, through Grace, on the Authority of Scripture, and to the Glory of God.
