ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّٰهِ

Hello, I'm Mahmood Hussain Bhat, an Engineer at Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). I am currently developing algorithms for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), particularly drones, with a focus on detection and collision avoidance systems.  I completed my master's degree at the National Taipei University of Technology, specializing in data augmentation, semantic segmentation, and style transfer using Generative Adversarial Networks. My research was conducted under the guidance of the renowned Dr. Tun-Wen Pai at the Bio-Medical Lab. Before pursuing my master's degree, I worked as a software engineer at Codeus, where I focused on the backend development of web applications and API development. I earned my bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Engineering (B.Tech) from Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak, India. I hail from the picturesque region of Kashmir, adding a touch of natural beauty to my background.

I have worked on the following projects:

• Enhancing apple leaf disease segmentation through combined superformula and generative adversarial networks data augmentation (private GitHub repo) [Thesis]
• Fog-Net - Generating synthetic fog with different density levels (private GitHub repo)
• Quantam
• ProgressCenter
• ProgressCenter Android
• More Projects on github

My Story

Life has been full of challenges for me, especially when it came to education. I struggled immensely in my studies, and there were several reasons for that—my surroundings, my school, and the fact that no one in my family, including my parents, was educated. But before I go into those struggles, let me share a bit about my background.

I was sent to a local government school, but no matter how hard I tried, I simply couldn’t understand most of what was being taught. It wasn’t that I lacked the willingness to learn; I just couldn’t grasp the concepts, no matter how much effort I put in. However, I had strengths in other areas. I was good at understanding people, following my Maktab teachers’ guidance (praying on time, avoiding bad habits), and listening carefully. Typically, students like me—those who struggled academically—were sent off to learn a trade or some work to earn money. But my father refused to give up on me. He made sure I continued my schooling despite the odds.

School, however, was a nightmare. I was beaten and scolded almost daily by teachers for not completing homework or failing to remember lessons. Things started to change when I was in the 7th or 8th grade. A new teacher, Farhat Nissa, was appointed to our school, and she was nothing less than an angel for all of us. She cared deeply about her students and was a guiding light in our village.

One day, she announced that she would be giving away some notebooks as a reward for students who answered her questions correctly. That night, I dreamed of getting one of those notebooks, but deep down, I knew I wasn’t capable of answering correctly. The next day, when she started asking questions, I sat quietly, watching my classmates respond. For the last notebook, she pointed at me and asked, “Nikkea cxe wan ye sawals jawab?” (Oh little kid, answer this question). My ears turned red, and with a racing heart, I tried my best. My answer wasn’t perfect, but it was somewhat relevant. To my surprise, she handed me the notebook! That moment felt like magic. Out of a class of about 30 students, she gave notebooks to 7–9 students, and I was one of them. From that day, she started paying special attention to me, and slowly, I began improving.

Unfortunately, political instability in Kashmir led to school closures for almost a year. Before everything shut down, she called me aside and encouraged me to attend private tuition. She even offered to pay for it. That was when I met another person who had a significant impact on my life—Shahzad Sir (Ghulam Hassan). He was a kind-hearted teacher who truly cared for his students. He taught me mathematics, and although I initially copied his answers for my homework—only changing the variable names—I eventually started learning. His compassion made me more engaged in my studies, and to this day, I consult him for life advice.

After passing the 8th grade, I moved on to high school for 9th and 10th grade. The struggle continued. I barely understood anything in physics, chemistry, mathematics, or social sciences. Urdu and English were the only subjects I could grasp a little. Thankfully, I continued going to Shahzad Sir’s tuition classes, which kept me afloat.

In 10th grade, we had to take board exams, which were known to be extremely difficult for government school students. To filter out weaker students, our school conducted a pre-board test called the ‘Golden Test.’ If students failed this test, they wouldn’t be allowed to sit for the actual board exams to prevent the school from receiving warnings due to a high failure rate. I don’t know how, but I passed the Golden Test and was allowed to take the board exams. To everyone’s surprise, I performed well and passed with 294/500 marks. It was a huge achievement—not just for me but for my entire family. I was the first student in my area to qualify on the first attempt, and that too from a government school. That day, neighbors came to our house to congratulate me, and my family and relatives brought sweets and gifts. It was one of the happiest moments of my life.

But the struggle didn’t end there. My father insisted that I choose the Science stream for my higher secondary education. In our system, after 10th grade, students must choose a field of study: Science (either Medical or Non-Medical), Commerce, or Arts. Medical includes Biology, Physics, and Chemistry, while Non-Medical includes Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry. I wasn’t confident in handling Science, but somehow, I agreed (that’s another long story!).

I joined a tuition center with my friend Kumail, but I couldn’t understand anything from any of the subjects. It was an uphill battle. When the 12th-grade board exams arrived, once again, many students from our area were expected to fail. I worked extremely hard to memorize concepts and somehow managed to pass. However, in mathematics, I scored 33 marks—the passing mark was 36. Fortunately, since I had already passed all my other subjects, the board awarded me an extra 3 grace marks, allowing me to pass. That was another unforgettable moment! Once again, I became the first in my neighborhood to pass the 12th-grade board exams on the first attempt. I was still very young, and my success was celebrated just like before—with gifts and congratulations from neighbors and relatives.

In our education system, government school students start directly from the 1st grade, usually around the age of 5–6. However, students who attend private schools go through three additional preparatory classes—Nursery, Lower Kindergarten (LKG), and Upper Kindergarten (UKG)—which gives them a significant advantage over government school students. That gap made my journey even harder.

more coming soon ...