Halfway into Purdue’s fully online Doctor of Technology (D.Tech.) program the decision to pursue the interdisciplinary doctorate is already paying off for Venkata Duvvuri.
He’s published three papers that he produced in connection with D.Tech., which helped land him on the cover of the October Analytics Insight Magazine, an issue focused on 2021’s Top 10 Leaders in Data Science. And a whitepaper he wrote related to technology leadership that he distributed to his bosses at Oracle helped land him a promotion.
“It's a very good program,” Duvvuri said of D.Tech. “It has been well laid out and the coursework is a balance of technology, innovation and leadership. My focus is more on technology, especially machine learning technology, but I also learn about leadership and try to take my learning and put it into practice in my work, which has definitely given me results in terms of a promotion in my workplace.”
Beyond some core courses, D.Tech. allows students to tailor their program to emphasize topics that fit with their interests and career goals as well as benefit the organizations for which they work. Duvvuri is focused on accelerating the science of deploying machine learning and artificial intelligence in software as a service products that operate in the cloud. His emphasis is software as a service for the marketing domain, allowing companies to reach customers more efficiently with personalized information they actually want and will use. That focus relates directly to his job at Oracle.
“The program is a perfect complement to what he does in real life, affording him the opportunity to test new paradigms about marketing and cloud computing in the digital age,” said Linda Naimi, associate professor in the Department of Technology Leadership and Innovation and one Duvvuri’s professors in the D.Tech program.
Duvvuri, who lives in San Jose, California, is a director of data science for software as a service at Oracle. He has more than 10 years of experience in software engineering, data science, business and digital media analytics, and web marketing optimization. He holds a master’s in computer science from the University of Massachusetts and an MBA from the University of California and has worked for eBay, AT&T and Apple, among other technology big hitters.
Despite his extensive educational background and work experience, which includes having filed eight patents, Duvvuri saw value in the idea of pursuing a doctorate when his professor at UC Davis suggested it.
For one thing, he describes himself as a persistent lifelong learner. “The drive for knowledge is one of my strengths," he said. “Continuous learning is the key to success.”
In addition, he teaches data analytics and machine learning as an adjunct faculty member at Northeastern University’s Silicon Valley campus. He figures a doctorate will give him greater credibility with his students.
If he was going to pursue a doctorate, it would have to be fully online, however. His job and family precluded an in-person or even a hybrid program. He researched some possibilities, including D.Tech., which his UC Davis professor had pointed out.
“D.Tech. was the natural choice,” Duvvuri said. “When I checked it out, this program was perfect for me, the Purdue brand as well as the top-class faculty. Everything suited my needs.”
D.Tech. also was attractive because it included a nice mix of technology, leadership and innovation plus the emphasis on applied research for which Purdue is well known.
“It seemed to be different from what was out there,” Duvvuri said.
The only drawback of the fully online program? It’s harder to get his hands on “Purdue swag,” he said, although he did make a point of visiting the West Lafayette campus on family vacation.
Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology Professor Raji Sundararajan, another faculty member working with Duvvuri in his D.Tech program, said his dedication, commitment, hard work, and publication productivity – despite being employed full time – stand out. She’s not surprised that the program already is benefitting his career.
“D.Tech. gives students anywhere the opportunity to make the extra leap to the ultimate terminal degree one can have,” Sundararajan said. “There are many people with master’s degrees and MBAs, but only 2% of the world population has a doctorate. D.Tech. offers the prestige of a doctorate and the pleasure of learning.”
Michael Dyrenfurth, professor emeritus of Technology Leadership and Innovation and Duvvuri’s major professor, was part of the team that conceptualized D.Tech. He said team members thought from the beginning that a significant pool of people in business, industry and the military could benefit from such the program.
“Our experience over the last three years has validated that assessment in that enrollment has far exceeded what even our most optimistic thoughts had dared,” Dyrenfurth said. “Undoubtedly, this is in large part due to our commitment to making our program accessible via distance learning methodologies, thereby enabling responsible personnel to retain their positions while pursuing their doctoral degree.”
For more information about the online Doctor of Technology degree, visit the program website.
