International student embraces leadership and volunteer roles

Despite only being in his second year, international student Amir Ali Eslami is already a TMU success story, both in his computer science program and in volunteer activities. 

Coming to TMU from Iran, Eslami was invited early on to complete a research assistantship with professor Alireza Sadeghian, who taught him in his CPS 213 Computer Organization I course. The work focused on image processing with large datasets. “I expanded my knowledge on convolutional neural network activation, which was not only a technical challenge but a profoundly rewarding learning experience for me.” 

Eslami also started connecting with workplace opportunities while attending the IEEE startup conference in Toronto. Founders from Veebar Tech, a company creating an app to help people manage their stoves through their smartphones, were sufficiently impressed with Eslami to hire him as their software engineering intern, a position he says also provided great learning. “This was a very impactful internship for me because I got firsthand experience on what it means to be a software engineer within a team, and, it made me really passionate about the tech industry.” 

Besides gaining valuable work experience, Eslami has also thrown himself into volunteering with the TMU branch of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Undergraduate Science Society of Toronto Metropolitan (USSTM), the university’s association for science undergraduates. In the role of Computer Science Director for USSTM, he provides guidance to students navigating their academic and career journeys. “I love to help students because I know how hard the first year is,” he says. 

Eslami’s efforts have already won him the Geoff Boyes International Student Leadership Award and the Geoff Boyes International Entrance Award, both endowed by a retired TMU mathematics professor who recognized the financial hardships international students can face in pursuing post-secondary education. Eslami says that these awards have boosted his confidence and motivation even further. “Receiving a TMU scholarship was the validation of my hard work and potential. I really needed that, to see that my effort and dedication had been noticed and rewarded.” He credits his family’s support as well. “Their encouragement has been instrumental in my achievements."

Eslami has already won two scholarships–the Geoff Boyes International Student Leadership Award and the Geoff Boyes International Entrance Award.