We caught up with STAI CDT students Anna Gausen and Madeleine Waller who were both part of the 2023/2024 Turing Enrichment scheme to hear about their experiences.
This competitive scheme gives UK university doctoral students the opportunity to undertake a six- or nine-month placement at the Alan Turing Institute in London and join a cohort of data science and AI PhD students. They have opportunities to learn from and collaborate with a diverse community of researchers at the Institute and gain new research skills that will positively impact their PhDs.
What did you work on during the Turing Enrichment scheme?
Anna: I co-authored a report on assessing Generative AI risk to safety and security. It was a great experience to get to collaborate on this impactful report. I continued as a Research Associate at the Alan Turing Institute after the Enrichment scheme to work on a follow-up project.
Madeleine: As part of my time on the scheme, my main contribution was to the AI Ethics and Governance in Practice workbook series, specifically the one on AI explainability as this aligns with my own research. I was fortunate to meet some great researchers in the Public Policy Programme who involved me in the project. My role was to provide detailed feedback and review the workbooks, contributing to ensuring the technical concepts of AI explainability were presented in a way that was understandable policymakers and other non-experts in AI.
What were your highlights of taking part in the scheme?
Anna: Getting to be a part of the Alan Turing Institute community, including the office, the slack channel, reading groups and all the events.
Madeleine: Being part of the scheme allowed me to be part of a different cohort of students across the UK and Norway. I also loved volunteering for the national conference on AI and data science, AI UK, as I had the opportunity to speak to a lot of different people working across different sectors.
How has taking part in the scheme impacted your PhD work/future career aspirations?
Anna: The Enrichment scheme was a great opportunity to meet other researchers and learn about their careers. My contribution to the ATI report was focused on evaluation of AI risk, which is what I am hoping to pursue as a career.
Madeleine: My time on the Enrichment scheme significantly contributed to my career progression as I discovered what research is like outside of academia but still strongly aligned. I had the opportunity to meet and learn from incredible multi-disciplinary researchers and participate in a large, collaborative project related to policy, which is the field I am aiming to work in after my PhD. I would highly recommend PhD students to apply for the Enrichment scheme if they are interested in going into a career which joins academia, industry, and government.