Hi,
following on from what Thomas, @tom, said there seem to be two classes of AI “researchers”,


Those that take a simple vanilla model, and then i) scale it up to more parameters/layers, ii) get it to run faster on the GPU, and distribute/parallelize it, iii) and then run it on massive datesets.


The complement of class 1


If you’re working on sequential MNIST, and looking to do smart things like EUNN or DNC, then you’re in the second class , and in the long run I’m sure you’ll learn a heck of a lot more 
Best of luck with your research!
Ajay