HACKER Q&A
📣 Heidaradar

Undergrad who wants to do part time research


I’m an undergrad in the UK who wants to do part time ML research, how likely is it that a lab/college in the US would be willing to supervise me and what projects would showcase my ability to do research? I was thinking of cold emailing some professors and implementing some random papers/reading one of their papers beforehand, is there anything else I could be doing?

Another follow up question, how did you manage to write a paper (in ML/not in ML) as an undergraduate?

  👤 DamonHD Accepted Answer ✓
Why the US? Why not some other part of your own uni?

I was able to do other subject modules for course credit as an undergrad, and helped with the research of a group in that area a little, and got my name on a paper.

Also I raised seed funding for a project in my main subject area that I worked on in parallel with my main course and the above.

Note: the above made me stand out a bit and I was thus a bit unpopular at times... I still am. B^>

👤 momofuku
The best place would be to start from the ML Collective: https://mlcollective.org/

They do some fantastic research in applied and theoretical ML. Rosanne Liu is a personal hero/role model of mine, and we all have a lot from the way she has organized this group and her career in general.

I really wish I'd known about this group back when I was an undergrad and just getting into DL research.

Let me know what your interests are, I can point you in the direction of some interesting people who might consider mentoring young undergrads.

All the best!

👤 p1esk
I was thinking of cold emailing some professors and implementing some random papers/reading one of their papers beforehand

This should be the right order:

1. Read papers about topics that interest you

2. Implement/modify one of the papers, put it on GH with a detailed README and pretty plots

3. Contact authors and offer ideas and/or free labor to expand/continue their work

This worked for me to get into research.

👤 brudgers
My advice:

1. Work with the professors at your current school to build academic/professional relationships.

2. That work is a way to demonstrate your ability and more importantly a commitment. It also builds a network of people in the field who can recommend you.

3. When you have an undergraduate apply to graduate schools doing research in areas you are interested, because in the US graduate students are typically used for serious research (exceptional undergraduates might be involved at senior year, but otherwise if they work in a lab it is doing repetitive grunt work).

To put it another way, be committed and demonstrate that commitment. Being interested is very unlikely to be enough statistically.

Anyway you are looking to commit to research and you don’t need permission to do it.

Good luck.