Paths at AIfSR

You may have come to the right place. Or not...
AIfSR operates with a certain philosophy in mind.
It is important to understand it to get as much as you can from your AIfSR experience at the innovation group and beyond.

If you want to join AIfSR you need to apply to join the Innovation group.

At the innovation group, you may expect 

• Hard problem to solve (often we don't know ourselves if a solution is even possible). You don't know the project before you join, not even the field.

• Teammates who were selected among many applicants.

• Meaningful contribution to scientific research.

• Unique and original experience.

• We value knowledge, skills, experience, and meaningful contributions more than grades/papers.

• A place to grow your professional skills and experience (but don't expect anybody to teach you any material). 

Can you expect to publish a paper based on your work?

• May be... There is nothing that prohibits you from achieving that. However, at the Innovation Group you usually simply don't have time to formulate and develop a fully-fledged original idea and solution worth publishing. 

• Most likely, if you push hard enough and develop a really good solution:

  • You change how the research is done in a collaborator's lab. This is a meaningful contribution on its own. 

  • You have a very good story to tell during interviews (job, Ph.D. application, fellowship, etc).

  • A collaborator may write a paper and invite your team to write a section of it with the results/solutions you produced.

What are the growth/development opportunities?

During your work at the AIfSR you are evaluated by the leadership team (how self-motivated you are, your ability to solve non-structured problems, your ability to develop and deliver useful solutions including code, reviews, documentation, finalizing solutions, etc). Those who show themselves very strong may be invited to:

• Work on yet another project that you may be interested in (and we have plenty of those)

• Become part of the leadership team

• Execute paid projects in DS Consulting division as a research assistant. 

• Work on long-term research projects as an AIfSR Research Fellow in the research division. This is where you are expected to produce a paper if all goes well.

Note: Often a member may be in two roles at the same time: for example, leadership member and research division member, innovation team member and DS consulting division specialist, etc.

We expect you to grow professionally and find great jobs or PhD programs

Some of the participants stay for several semesters in the innovation group if they find it useful and interesting. Some leave after one semester. Some members join leadership. Some participate in the DS consulting division or the research division. We value continuous participation and are happy to see you stay with AIfSR longer.

However, if you find a great internship or get an exciting job offer, we are happy for you. Go for it!

I want to learn more 

Great! Read more here:

• Mission

• https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.08966