Openings

We are actively looking for strong and motivated students with research experience in Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing. Specifically, we are looking for students who want to understand problems deeply and be able to explain these problems well.

What will I work on?

Our lab offers an exceptional platform for exploring how machines, like humans, can swiftly adapt to novel situations via language understanding. Our work spans several areas. First, we investigate novel methods to learn from human and machine language feedback, leveraging world knowledge provided by humans and foundation models. Second, we focus on developing semantic evaluations of foundation models, proposing automatic evaluation methods to comprehensively assess model capabilities without requiring domain expertise. Third, we develop post-training adaptation techniques that enable ML models to adapt effectively and privately to new distributions and contexts during test-time. Long-term applications of focus include developing language agents in operating systems and learning from structured and unstructured multi-modal data. As a member of our lab, you will work in a diverse set of areas including ML, RL, NLP, and CV. Moreover, your work will provide collaboration opportunities with industry research labs such as the Vector Institute, Microsoft Research, Meta AI Research, and Salesforce Research.

How do I apply?

If you are interested in working with us, please first complete this form, then apply through the University of Waterloo CS PhD program (deadline typically Dec 1) and mention Victor Zhong in your application. If you complete this short test, we will prioritize the evaluation of your application. If you do so, please include the URL to your results in your response to the application form under "Comments".

Unfortunately, due to the volume of requests, we cannot personally comment on most applications - specifically, we cannot offer insights into your likelihood of admission nor the status of your application to the University of Waterloo.

Should I apply to MS or PhD?

At the University of Waterloo, MS is similar to years 1-2 of a PhD student (e.g. in the United States). In this sense, MS students are expected to perform productive research similar to junior PhD students. If you are an undergraduate student with ample research experience, we welcome you to apply directly to the PhD program. Otherwise, please apply to the MS program and rest assured that we will advise MS students like junior PhD students. If you already have a MS degree, please apply to the PhD program.

Can I work with you outside of the MS/PhD program?

Yes, we are open to research collaborations outside of the MS/PhD program. If you are not an experienced researcher (e.g. you are not a PhD student), please first complete this short test first, and include the URL to your results in your response to the application form under "Comments". The collaboration arrangement will differ depending on your current situation. For students already at the University of Waterloo, it is likely that we can form a formal collaboration in the form of RAship through the University or through the Vector Institute Internship program. For students not at the University of Waterloo, please apply through the Vector Institute Internship program. For Postdocs, please apply through the Vector Institute Postdoc program.