I am usually found in Oslo, at Simula Research Laboratory. That’s where I work on my PhD research. But with some generous funding from NORA, I got to do a research stay at University College London! I spent March and April as a visiting student at the Department of Statistics, under the supervision of Prof. Ricardo Silva. I reached out to Ricardo in September last year. I was staying in London for a sort of hackathon with the Alan Turing Institute—also a NORA funded venture for me—and searched around to see if there were any interesting researchers to try and meet. My PhD topic is about applying something called “causal inference” to shape the way neural networks process information—trying to make safer and less error-prone AI models. It’s a bit of a niche topic, so I was very happy to find that there was one Professor Silva at UCL doing research on the same topic. I emailed him and invited myself over for a meeting, and it turned out really well. We had lots to talk about, and I asked Ricardo if it would be possible for me to come and stay with him for a few months. He said he’d be happy to host if I could sort out some funding. Thankfully I was able to, with the help of NORA.
Two Months in London - With Trips to Paris and Cambrige
I spent two months at UCL as a visiting PhD student. Not only did I learn a lot from the work I did with Ricardo, but I made many new connections and met a bunch of interesting people. All the PhD students at the UCL stats department share one big open-plan office, which means that you very quickly become part of the crew. People were studying a wide variety of topics, from measure-theoretical probability theory to statistical weather forecasting. This mix gave rise to many interesting lunchtime discussions and fostered a collaborative environment.
In addition to the people, London is also a great city geographically—it’s very conveniently located! This I really tried to make the most of. I got to go to Paris to give a talk about causality in neural networks (the train from London takes just two hours), as well as go visit some friends and colleagues at Cambridge, my old alma mater. I even meant to go camping in Dartmoor, but unfortunately fell ill and had to cancel at the last minute.
I am really grateful for the time I got to spend at UCL, and to NORA for helping me fund my stay! I learnt a lot and got to meet and work with many interesting people. After a pause this summer where I joined an EU research project for some months, I am now continuing the work I started with Ricardo. I’m planning to use that as the third and most important paper of my thesis. And hopefully I’ll get the chance to go back to UCL in not too long.
Interested in international exchange? NORA Research School offers financial support for research stays abroad. Visit the exchange page to see current opportunities and be sure to apply before the deadline.