The Department of MCA organised an Expert Talk on “The Art of Feature Engineering – Where Data Science Really Begins” on 23rd December 2025. The guest speaker was Ms. Maria Sapthika, Software Engineer at Capgemini, Bangalore. The session aimed to provide students with practical insights into the most critical stage of the data science pipeline. The expert highlighted how effective feature engineering significantly influences model performance and decision-making in real-world applications.

Industry-oriented perspectives were shared alongside practical examples and case studies to enrich students’ learning. The importance of feature engineering in the data science lifecycle was emphasised as a step that often impacts performance more than the algorithm choice.

The difference between raw data and engineered features was explained, noting that raw data is incomplete, noisy, or unstructured. Engineered features, on the other hand, capture meaningful patterns that enable efficient learning and accurate results. Techniques such as feature extraction, transformation, scaling, encoding, and selection were demonstrated to show how dimensionality reduction improves speed and generalisation.

The impact of feature engineering on model accuracy and interpretability was discussed, stressing that well-designed features enhance reliability and stakeholder trust. Students gained an enhanced understanding of the importance of feature engineering in projects. They also learned how to identify and create relevant features from raw data.

The session improved awareness of real-world data challenges faced in industry. Motivation was instilled to apply feature engineering techniques in academic and professional projects. Activities included an expert lecture, demonstrations using sample datasets, and an interactive Q&A session.