“Being a PhD student in Europe is one of the best experiences of my life.”

The ELLIS PhD Program is rich with inspiring stories of young AI scientists and their impressive research journeys, and this is one of them: Zhijing Jin, an ELLIS PhD student nearing the end of her dissertation phase, is about to embrace a new challenge. She will soon begin her career as an Assistant Professor in Natural Language Processing (NLP) at the University of Toronto in Canada, where she will hold a CIFAR AI Chair and be a faculty member at the Vector Institute. Originally from Shanghai, she studied in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the USA before joining the ELLIS network, benefiting from joint supervision at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) in Germany and ETH Zurich in Switzerland. In this interview, she shares her experiences as a young researcher in Europe, her future plans, and her reflections on the ELLIS PhD Program.

Hello Zhijing. Thank you very much for taking the time for this interview! You joined ELLIS in 2021 as an ELLIS PhD student and dedicated your dissertation to the intersection of causality and natural language processing (NLP). To start, could you give us an insight into your current research? What are you working on specifically?

Zhijing: “Sure! Now that ChatGPT catches a lot of public attention, it is a simple job explaining my research. As the name suggests, the field of natural language processing (NLP) builds computational models of how language works, and ChatGPT is a famous example of such a model. As for causality, I work together with my supervisor Bernhard Schölkopf to investigate how causal reasoning can improve NLP models. Specifically, I'm focusing on developing methods to enhance language models' ability to understand and reason about cause-and-effect relationships, aiming to make AI more robust and reliable in real-world applications.”


You have had an impressive research career with experiences across different continents and in industry. Originally from Shanghai, you studied in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the USA. As an ELLIS PhD student, you gained further experience in Germany and Switzerland. How did you perceive your time here? Did you notice anything particular about the research environment in Europe?

Zhijing: “Being a PhD student in Europe is one of the best experiences of my life. My curiosity-driven research was unconditionally supported by MPI and my supervisor, Bernhard Schölkopf, who recognized my talent, inspired me with his sharp insights, and trusted me, allowing me to develop my own research topic even when it wasn't widely recognized.

The unique academic training in Europe emphasizes math, physics, and philosophy. This opens a new world for me, as my prior experiences are in societies and universities prioritizing Computer Science. My time in Europe has equipped me with a broader view of foundational knowledge, which culminates in my experience attending the 2024 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, where I represented the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and met nearly 40 physics laureates. All of these experiences will inspire me for the rest of my academic and personal life.

Moreover, ELLIS connected me with my co-supervisor, Mrinmaya Sachan at ETH, who provided close mentorship on the NLP aspect of my research. Together, we explored how causality and NLP could work together, and designed a great research agenda looking into the future. Thanks to the support of Mrinmaya and Bernhard as my ELLIS co-supervisors, I enjoyed a resourceful and fulfilling PhD experience across Germany and Switzerland. I am deeply appreciative of this incredible journey.”


Your time as an ELLIS PhD student is coming to an end, and the next big career step is already on the horizon: In 2025, you will start as an Assistant Professor in NLP at the University of Toronto, holding a CIFAR AI Chair and being a faculty member at the Vector Institute. Additionally, you will be co-affiliated with the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) in Germany. Congratulations on this achievement! What are your plans for this new position?

Zhijing: “Thank you! I'm very grateful for the support and incredible research experience I received during my PhD. In my new position, I hope to give back to the community that nurtured me. I look forward to collaborating with the talented faculty and students at MPI-IS to expand the latest large language model (LLM) research. I will continue my work on building more trustworthy LLMs with causality, and look forward to co-supervising students within the ELLIS-CIFAR network, bringing state-of-the-art research developments with talents and students from both Europe and Canada.”


The ELLIS PhD Program offers a unique combination of features for PhD students, including joint supervision by advisors from two different countries, a central application platform that allows candidates to reach many AI labs with a single application, exchange opportunities within the ELLIS network, and numerous training activities. What have you gained from being part of this program, both personally and professionally?

Zhijing: “I have gained immensely from the ELLIS PhD Program. The joint supervision has been a major enabler for cross-topic research, which is crucial for advancing knowledge. Without ELLIS connecting me with my two exceptional co-supervisors, Bernhard Schölkopf (expert in causality) and Mrinmaya Sachan (expert in NLP), I wouldn't have been able to develop my research agenda at the intersection of both fields.

Additionally, the exchange opportunities within the ELLIS network expanded my professional connections, and the training activities enriched my skills and knowledge. This program has significantly enhanced my personal and professional growth.”


EU-funded projects like ELISE, ELSA, and ELIAS support the ELLIS PhD Program by facilitating activities such as providing mobility funding for PhD students, enabling them to travel across Europe and establish new connections. Have you benefited from any of these initiatives?

Zhijing: “I really appreciate the support from the ELISE mobility fund, which covered my costs during my exchange period at ETH in Zürich, Switzerland, where the living expenses are high. This support enabled me to fully focus on my research and build valuable connections.”


The ELLIS PhD Program will open its next call for applications in October. What advice would you give to candidates worldwide who are considering applying?

Zhijing: “I highly encourage you to apply! With ELLIS, you’ll experience a unique academic atmosphere, pursue curiosity-driven research, engage with interdisciplinary co-supervisors, and enjoy the beauty of two incredible countries!”


From your point of view, what challenges and opportunities does your research area hold for young scientists interested in pursuing a career in this field? Do you have any recommendations for them?

Zhijing: “The main challenge in this research field is mastering both causality and NLP, requiring a strong foundation in both areas, but this also presents a unique opportunity for impactful, interdisciplinary research. I recommend that young scientists stay curious, seek diverse mentorship, especially through ELLIS, and courageously build their own research agenda!”

 

Zhijing, thank you very much for this interview!

 

More information

View Zhijing Jin’s website at https://zhijing-jin.com and her CV here, and follow her on X and LinkedIn.

ELLIS PhD students are supervised by two researchers from the ELLIS network located in different countries. Zhijing’s primary advisor is Bernhard Schölkopf (Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Germany / ELLIS Institute Tübingen, Germany). Her secondary advisor and exchange host is Mrinmaya Sachan (ETH Zurich). She is also co-affiliated with ETH AI Center and Max Planck ETH Center for Learning Systems (CLS).

Learn more about the ELLIS PhD Program here. The next call for applications will open in October 2024.

Watch the ELLIS PhD Program video and these short video testimonials recorded by some of our students across Europe to get an impression of what it’s like to be an ELLIS PhD student.

To stay up to date on the latest news about the program, follow ELLIS on X, LinkedIn, Mastodon and Facebook, and subscribe to the monthly ELLIS email newsletter.

The ELLIS PhD Program has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under ELISE Grant Agreement No. 951847 (2020 – 2024), and is continued with funding from the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under ELIAS grant agreement number 101120237 (2023 – 2027). The program is also expanded by the EU-funded project ELSA under grant agreement number 101070617 (2022 – 2025).