Can you tell us more about your work? I am a final-year PhD student at the Centre for Doctoral Training in Artificial Intelligence and Music, hosted by the Centre for Digital Music at EECS, QMUL. My research focuses on automatic music transcription (AMT), which aims to convert music recordings into human- or machine-readable music notations. AMT is one of the core tasks in music information research and can be widely used in various applications such as music performance analysis, automatic music composition, melody-based music search, and building music archives. My work mainly focuses on developing algorithms for obtaining symbolic music output at the score level (e.g. MusicXML), including end-to-end methods for audio-to-score transcription and deep learning-based rhythm quantisation. I hope my research can provide valuable tools for musicians and music lovers.
What inspired you to choose EECS?The Centre for Digital Music is a fantastic group for music-related research, and I was attracted the first time I heard about it. I was an undergraduate student in the joint programme with BUPT and came to London for my final year of undergraduate. At that time, I heard about music research at EECS and decided to stay here for my master's and PhD studies. Luckily enough, I met great supervisors who supported my work.
What are the challenges and opportunities of being a woman in EECS?The biggest challenge, but also the biggest opportunity of being a woman in EECS, is to forget we are women and treat ourselves as gender-neutral researchers. There are unconscious biases that women cannot do as well as men in STEM, but it's always helpful to consciously forget it for the best of ourselves. We don't need to stress ourselves to fight for it or to do hard work to prove we are not less competitive than men. Opportunities are always there. People will see it as long as we do an excellent job as a researcher.
Why should women consider a career in engineering or computer science?EECS is never just for men; women are just as talented as boys. Our gender should not restrict the reason we choose a career path, but depending on what we are interested in and good at. To this end, EECS is an excellent choice for people who like to develop useful applications, innovate technologies and do something for society.
Do you have a role model who inspires you?I do have role models who inspired me during my growing up. The first one is my mother, a woman with strong inner strength. She brought me up when my father was not around and shaped most of my worldview. I learned from her that women can be as powerful as men and they are individuals who can live very well on their own. Other role models span my supervisors, friends, and some virtual characters in books/movies. I can always learn something from the people I met in my life.
What's the best thing about your work? The best thing about my work is the freedom to explore new technologies and ideas. I enjoy every peaceful day, beginning with a cup of tea, sitting in front of the computer, and starting to run experiments, learn something, or discuss ideas with friends. It's also a great experience to finally find a solution to a problem, which can make me happy for the rest of the day. Last but not least, music brings joy to my work.
When not at EECS, what are your interests?In my free time, I like to play the piano, knitting, reading and watch TV series. I also enjoy chatting with close friends and practising qigong Ba Duan Jin.