Varad Vishwarupe
Oxford
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
Work History
Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant
University of Oxford
Oxford, UK
10.2024 - Current
- GRATA for Machine Learning, Neural Networks, Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Processes and Computation.
- Taught classes and mentored undergrad and MSc students at various colleges across Oxford.
Research Scientist II – Alexa AI
Amazon
Hyderabad And London
10.2020 - 08.2022
- Led the LLM evaluation and deployment of Alexa TM20B team, a large-scale multimodal transformer model powering Alexa Voice Services and Skills, with a focus on few-shot learning for wake-word detection and ASR accuracy.
- Delivered a 24.7% increase in user satisfaction and an 18% reduction in ASR error rates, improving global voice interaction quality for millions of users.
Research Intern
Alan Turing Institute
London, UK
01.2020 - 03.2020
- Developed RL models for Transport for London, embedding fairness constraints to reduce wait times in underserved zones (Rawlsian equity), aiding gig workers reliant on affordable transit.
- Balanced cost-efficiency with driver welfare (EU labor principles), shaping TfL-Uber subsidies to counter AI-driven worker exploitation.
Research Software Development Engineer I – Azure ML Studio
Microsoft Research
Hyderabad, India
09.2016 - 09.2019
- Developed crucial features for ML-as-a-service functionality within the Azure Machine Learning Studio team, streamlining the deployment process and enabling seamless integration of core and advanced ML models for Azure users, resulting in a stupendous improved adoption rate of 32.6%.
- Contributed proactively to the Azure Stack HCI development team by working on the hybridization of on-premises HCI infrastructure with Azure cloud services. This innovative solution expanded Azure’s reach to a broader customer base driving a 9% increase in Azure Stack HCI adoption by users.
Machine Learning Intern
IBM Research
New Delhi, India
05.2015 - 08.2015
- Worked on IBM’s DB2 and Infosphere proprietary technologies and carried out data anonymization using machine learning on large scale synthetic datasets.
- Achieved an improved data-masking accuracy of 88% as opposed to the initial 71% in IBM’s Optim ETL solutions grid.
Education
D.Phil. (Ph.D.) - Computer Science (Human-Centered AI)
University of Oxford
Oxford, UK09.2027
M.Tech. - Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS)
08.2024
M.Sc. - Advanced Computer Science
University of Oxford
09.2020
B.Eng. - Information Technology Engineering
MIT College of Engg., Pune
08.2016
Skills
- Mathematics & AI Foundations: Linear Algebra, Probability & Statistics, Optimization, Bayesian Inference, Supervised/Unsupervised/Reinforcement Learning, Deep Learning (CNNs, GANs, LSTMs, Transformers), Representation Learning, PCA, LDA
- Programming & Systems: Proficient in Python, C, R, SQL, React, Nodejs, HTML/CSS, Pandas, Scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras, OpenCV, AWS (EC2, S3, SageMaker) Working knowledge of Java, Julia, Tableau, Figma, SPSS, and data visualization (Plotly, D3js, Matplotlib, Seaborn)
- Research & Writing: Academic publishing, technical writing, qualitative & quantitative methods, grant proposals, ethics applications, grounded theory, cross-disciplinary research in AI, HCI, and philosophy
- LLM & AI Ethics Expertise: LLM evaluation and deployment (few-shot learning, multimodal models), prompt engineering, safety testing, explainability, human-centred AI, AI governance, value alignment, and ethical design of AI systems
Accomplishments
- Full Funding Offers: Secured PhD admits with full scholarships at Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, and Harvard (acceptance rates 5–15%).
- Institute for Ethics in AI Scholar, University of Oxford – recognized for research in AI ethics, HCAI, and governance.
- Global Recognition: Selected among Top 20 Young Scientists (out of 835) to present AI research to Hon. Prime Minister of India at the GPAI 2023 Summit, New Delhi.
- India’s Top 30 Under 30 – Excellence in Technology, IGI Global Prime Icon Awards 2023 (from 900+ applicants).
- Young Researcher, ACM Heidelberg Laureate Forum 2023 – one of 200 participants globally to engage with Nobel laureates and Turing Award winners.
- Research Grants: Secured INR 50 Lakh (~£48,000) in funding for applied AI + HCI research projects at MITSOT.
- Best Paper Awards: Winner at Elsevier ISCSI’22 Portugal, ACM CIIS China 2022, Springer ICT4SD, WS4 London 2018.
- Impactful Team Player Award, Alexa AI (Amazon R&D) - recognized for advancing ASR and LLM evaluation in Alexa TM20B.
- Excellence in Industrial R&D, MTTV Awards – honored for outstanding contributions as a Data Scientist in applied AI.
- Invited TEDx Speaker (2024, forthcoming) and Guest Speaker at International Data Science Symposium (2021-23), sharing insights on AI, ML, and ethics.
Timeline
Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant
University of Oxford
10.2024 - Current
Research Scientist II – Alexa AI
Amazon
10.2020 - 08.2022
Research Intern
Alan Turing Institute
01.2020 - 03.2020
Research Software Development Engineer I – Azure ML Studio
Microsoft Research
09.2016 - 09.2019
Machine Learning Intern
IBM Research
05.2015 - 08.2015
M.Tech. - Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS)
M.Sc. - Advanced Computer Science
University of Oxford
B.Eng. - Information Technology Engineering
MIT College of Engg., Pune
D.Phil. (Ph.D.) - Computer Science (Human-Centered AI)
University of Oxford
PATENTS
- A System and Method to Generate Intelligent Payment Alerts Based on Artificial Intelligence, ZA2022083878 (Granted).
- A System and Method for Generating and Displaying Personalized Television Content, ZA2022083318 (Granted).
- A System and Method to Develop a Human-Computer Interaction-Based User Interface for Facilitating Personalized Musical Instrument Rentals, ZA2022088358 (Granted).
- A System and Method to Detect Twitter Spam Using an Intelligent Hybrid Classifier, ZA2021083028 (Granted).
- A Zone-Specific Weather Monitoring System Using Crowdsourcing, AU2021106275 (Granted).
- A System and Method to Generate Notifications for Text Messages Based on Content-Relevance and Priority-Filtering, IN202162104218 (Granted).
Publications
- Human-Centered Approach to Intelligent Analytics in Industry 4.0, Intelligent Analytics for Industry 4.0 Applications. Vishwarupe V. et al (2023), Taylor & Francis, UK. https://www.doi.org/10.1201/9781003321149-3
- Bringing Humans at the Epicentre of Artificial Intelligence: A Confluence of AI, HCI, and Human-Centered Computing. Vishwarupe V., Bedekar M., Pande M., Bhatkar V. Joshi P. et al (2022), Elsevier, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2022.08.111
- Explainable AI and Interpretable Machine Learning: A Case Study in Perspective. (Best Paper Award) Vishwarupe V., Joshi P. et al. (2022). ACM ISCSI ’22 Portugal. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.procs.2022.08.105
- Exploring Human-Computer Interaction in Industry 4.0. Vishwarupe V., Pande M., Joshi P. et al. (2022). In Signals and Communication Technology. Springer, Germany. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29713-7_2
- Comparative Analysis of Machine Learning Algorithms for Analyzing NASA’s Kepler Mission Data. (2022). Vishwarupe V., Bedekar M., Pande M., Bhatkar V. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2022.08.105
- Intelligent Twitter Spam Detection: A Hybrid Approach. (Best Paper Award) Vishwarupe V., Bedekar M., Pande M. (2018). Springer WS4 Conference, London, UK. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6916-1_17
Awards
Secured admits with full funding from Univ. of Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, Harvard for PhD in Computer Science having acceptance rates between 5-15%., Institute for Ethics in AI Scholar, University of Oxford. Selected amongst the Top 20 Young Scientists out of 835 applicants to present AI research in front of Hon. Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi at the Global Partnership on AI – (GPAI) 2023 Summit, New Delhi. India’s Top 30 Under 30: Excellence in Technology Awardee, 16th Global Prime Icon Awards India 2023 (out of 900+ applicants), Young Researcher: ACM Heidelberg Laureate Forum ’23 (Only 200 participants selected globally), Fetched research grants of INR 50 Lacs (~48,000 GBP) for conducting applied research at MITSOFT on AI and HCI., Youngest Expert Peer Research Reviewer, WIREs Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery, John Wiley & Sons and International Journal of Intelligent Systems, London., Best Research Paper Awards: Elsevier ISCSIT’22 Portugal, ACM CIS China 2022, Springer ICT4SD WS4 London 2018., Excellence in Industrial R&D: MTTV Excellence Awards for outstanding contribution in the industry as a Data Scientist., Invited TEDx Speaker, TedX VIIT 2024(forthcoming), Invited Guest Speaker, International Data Science Symposium, VIIT, India in 2021, 2022, 2023., Conference Peer Research Reviewer: Elsevier ISCSIT’23 Portugal, Springer ICIS2A2 and ’23 India, ACM CSEA’23 China., Impactful Team Player Award - Alexa AI, Amazon R&D, for contribution to research in the team., Youngest Member, Maharashtra State Chief Minister’s Digital Task Force during COVID-19., Department Gold Medal, for securing 1st Rank from the 2016 Class (178 students), MITCoE, Pune., Institute Silver Medal for securing 2nd Rank from the 2016 Batch (724 students), MITCoE, Pune., Best Outgoing Student of the Year, MITCoE 2016 batch., Team Lead, ACM ICPC 2015, Amritapuri India Regional Finalist – 4th ranked team from India., Academic Excellence Scholarship MITCoE (2nd/724) 100% tuition fee waiver in 2014, 2015, 2016., Microsoft Student Partner 2015-16 (389 students selected from 1,000+ applicants pan India)., Winner, Smart India Hackathon’17 (from 400+ entries). Delivered a total of 18 invited guest lectures and workshops across India and abroad on AI, HCI, DS and ML., Techniche Excellence Award 2016, MITCoE, Pune., Judiciary Bertelsmann Scholar in AI-ML, 2022., Young Scientist Award – Indian Scholars Institute, ’22., Research Excellence Award – Indian Scholars Institute, ’22., 1st Prize, Python Hackathon, Techfest, IIT Bombay., 1st Prize, 24 Hour Coding Hackathon, COEP, 2017 Pune., 1st Prize, 'Hack It Up' Programming Contest, 2016 Pune.