Jumping back into learning after 30 years, armed with curiosity, Python, and the optimistic belief that calculus can’t be that scary. Right?
Hey, I’m Olivier — a Sales Director (slightly older than in the picture above…) working in the SaaS world, but at heart I’ve always been an explorer. Since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated by how things work. I would take objects apart just to understand the mechanism inside. That curiosity never left me; it simply shifted over the years from physical objects to technology.
Nearly 30 years ago, I started my career as a developer. Back then, software followed strict rules: if this happens, then do that. No surprises. No reasoning. No creativity (except with my numerous bugs). I stepped away from coding as my career grew toward more business roles, but I never lost that sense of wonder for the mechanics behind the screen.
And then AI happened.
Today, I use ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot almost daily. Their ability to generate ideas, understand context, and mimic reasoning feels like nothing I’ve ever seen. It sparked a simple but powerful question in me: “How can a program start thinking in a way that feels so close to the human mind?“
That question pulled me back into learning, and ultimately led me here.
I’m now learning Python — a language that feels clean, logical, and surprisingly comforting to return to. I’ve also enrolled in two executive programmes at Imperial College Business School:
- Professional Certificate in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (Starting Dec 11th 2025)
- AI for Business Transformation: Generative AI and Beyond (Starting Feb 19th 2026)
I know the road ahead won’t be easy. Machine learning is built on a foundation of mathematics — linear algebra, calculus, probability — and while this is not my natural comfort zone, I’m committed to understanding the underlying concepts rather than treating them as black boxes. It’s going to be demanding, but that’s precisely what makes it exciting.
This blog, Emerging Minds, is my way of documenting the journey. It forces me to slow down, reflect, and turn what I learn into something understandable and useful. My goal is to translate complex ideas into real-world applications and to show that you don’t need to be a lifelong engineer to dive into the world of AI.
If you’re curious, if you’re learning, or if you simply want to follow the path of someone stepping into AI from the business side — welcome. Let’s explore this new frontier together, one concept at a time.