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.
Our lab offers an exceptional platform for exploring how machines, like humans, can swiftly adapt to novel situations via language understanding. Please see the homepage for a list of recent research topics, and the publications page for a list of recent papers. 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.
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.
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.
Generally, we are looking for undergraduate students who are self-motivated, highly organized and attentive to detail, and are strong programmers. We suggest reaching out early in your undergrad in order to get involved with our research. Please complete the application as well as the short test. For undergraduate students, first we require one volunteer quarter where you work with a graduate student on a project. After that, if there is a good fit, we can form a formal collaboration in the form of URF through the University or through the Vector Institute Internship program. We prioritize applications through URF/MURA, followed by URA. Familiarity with training ML models is highly preferred but not necessary. If you are a very strong programmer and would like to work on systems-related problems, we would also love to work with you.
Yes, we are open to research collaborations. Please complete an application. If you are not an experienced researcher (e.g. not a PhD student), please also complete the short test. The collaboration arrangement will differ depending on your current situation. 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.