Baptiste Moalic

Tell us a bit about you

My name is Baptiste. I originally come from Brest, a town in the North-West of France, but I am now in Paris. I studied computer science in France, in an engineering school called Télécom Paris. 

I studied at UCL as part of my third year of engineering school, to specialise in an area of computer science I was interested in: computer vision. 

Why did you choose to study Computer Graphics, Vision and Imaging (CGVI) MSc at UCL?  

I wanted to get an experience abroad, at a reputable European university. When browsing the programmes of different universities, the Master’s in computer science were usually quite generic, giving an overview of the latest trends but not necessarily going deep into one subject. 

However, the MSc Computer Graphics, Vision and Imaging had an emphasis on 3D geometry processing, augmented reality and robot vision, topics that are not commonly found in other programmes. The fact that UCL is renowned in the world and recognised as a major actor in research in the UK also played in favour of that MSc.

What was your biggest achievement during your Master’s? 

It was definitely the thesis at the end of the programme. From defining a direction of study to presenting results - helped by the supervisors and post-docs - I had to plan my tasks autonomously, work on novel problems where the answer could not be found online, and write a comprehensive research thesis of what I had done during the past 4-5 months. 

It felt rewarding to see I could unveil new research directions (at my small scale) and that I could now be able to work alongside professors and researchers that recognised my work as a contribution to the field.

How easy was it to find a job back in France with a degree from a UK university? 

I would say the country of my degree mattered less than what I had learnt during my time there. What interested employers the most was my connection to research topics, and my ability to produce code that they could already use in a research or production setting.  

The research methodology and curiosity, along with the coding skills I picked up during the CGVI MSc, were some of the advantages I had over other candidates.

Unfortunately, I feel like big foreign universities – at least in France – are not always as recognised as local ones, so do not take it for granted, and make sure to value the content of your degree! 

What do you do in your current role as an AI Software Engineer? 

Currently, my time is split into two parts: I design and test lightweight deep-learning architectures for real-time image/3D segmentation. This is the experimental part of my work, but I also work on more traditional software engineering tasks such as improving our algorithms and maintaining our codebase.  

My work also involves a lot of collaboration with my colleagues: from brainstorming technical solutions to building tools that could help the team, I am rarely working on my own. 

What is the most rewarding project you’ve worked on so far? 

It is from a project I did during an internship right after I finished my degree at UCL. I worked on a recent trend in AI: foundation models. Those architectures boast millions of parameters and are trained on billions of data, which makes them capable of performing really well on a wide range of tasks. 

This involved working with super-computers and being as close to the scientific state-of-the-art as possible. It felt great to have the confidence of my team to work on such a big project.  

My MSc thesis played a part in that success, as I had to apply the research skills I learnt during the degree, and had to write another extensive research report at the end of the project. 

What advice do you have for others interested in similar roles? 

The field is very competitive, and I feel like employers are more and more demanding. A degree in computer science/engineering is a great starting point.  

Side-projects, taking part in coding competitions and obtaining certifications are always welcome, although I think the most important point is to understand what you want to do and how you could reach that point.

But also ask yourself, what about the fields you have not worked in yet? Would you feel better in a big corporation or a small start-up? Should you do a PhD? To be fair, I still struggle to answer all of those questions.  

Nowadays, in AI, anything you can do will help you fine-tune your trajectory, and hopefully, at some point, you will have a better idea of the final destination you want to reach. 

It’s an exciting time to be in AI, so try not to fixate on an ideal position you wish to obtain straight after your degree, but try and hop on the train in the best way you can, and doors will gradually open as you put the work in! 

Which module from your Master’s has served you well in your career so far? 

My current work is directly linked to the 3D geometry processing module I took during the second semester of CGVI. I regularly deal with notions I have seen in those classes, and I even come back to the professor’s slides sometimes to refresh my memory about algorithms that are used in our codebase. 

We also had to implement algorithms from existing research papers ourselves, which again builds confidence about our analysis and coding skills. 

What facilities did you use during the practical parts of your degree? 

Most of our classes and labs took place in the Malet Place Engineering Building, at the heart of the campus. I liked the room with the ultra-wide screens, where I could meet up with friends from the MSc to work on the projects we had. 

Otherwise, I liked booking rooms in different libraries to explore campus, even though I often ended up at the Student Centre. 

I also got the chance to work at the Centre for Medical Image Computing in Holborn during the MSc thesis, where I had a desk to work when I wanted.

Looking back on your time at UCL, is there anything you’d do differently? 

On the academic side, I think I would have liked to talk and collaborate more with my professors. They have a lot of valuable experience – they are leading research laboratories, and they have dedicated a large part of their time to help us. They can help in moments where you hesitate about your next steps.

Otherwise, I would say I would have wanted to spend more time discovering London and integrating into the societies. I managed to get over my shyness and show up at some taster sessions, but in the end, I feel like I have missed on the more “day-to-day” part of societies, such as pub nights or just hanging out outside of the events. 

I think it takes more time as an international student, even more as a 1-year MSc student, so just keep that in mind! I have only met great individuals in societies, and they have allowed me to try out new things and enjoy myself a lot. A special shout out to Rare FM and the Electronic Music Society!

The information on this page reflects the graduate’s status at the time of publication (July 2025).