Prospective Students – EdTeKLA Research Group

We are looking for a few highly-motivated students who are passionate about working with people to build and evaluate software that supports human learning. If you are interested in joining our group, please read everything below before contacting me (Carrie). Note that we have limited capacity and are only recruiting one or two new MSc or PhD students to join our group this year. If you have been admitted and are interested in working with us, there may be an opportunity for you to join us.

Note that we are careful about who joins our group. We welcome people from various academic traditions and socio-cultural groups. However, we are at full capacity in terms of number of students. This reality is unlikely to change for the next few years. Therefore, we have to be extremely selective. We’ve already turned down applications and requests from very strong candidates. To be considered, you must demonstrate strong research capabilities in educational technology, learning analytics, HCI, NLP, or other relevant fields.

You can contact Carrie via email if you want to join us. Please make sure you include the following information and materials in your email to Carrie. If your email does not cover them, Carrie may not respond.

You should include the below information in your email body:
- An introduction of yourself,
- information about the funding you are applying for, and
- an explanation for why you want to join our group.
You should also attach
- your CV (without a picture),
- your research proposal (up to 2 pages excluding references), and
- a file describing the three accomplishments you are most proud of. If these accomplishments involved collaboration with others, clarify what your contributions were.

A few things to note when emailing Carrie (potential graduate students and international students)

I require a research proposal even if the program you are applying for does not. If you are already in our MSc program and want to discuss potential research topics, you can summarize those in your email instead. I may then meet with you and ask you to expand one of them into a proposal.
The majority of your research proposal should cover what you want to do here. Your proposal should include a clear description of your idea, motivation, a brief summary of related work, and project execution plan. You need to demonstrate your intellectual capability and strong curiosity as well as project execution skills in your research proposal. See the below links for more information:
Your research proposal must be related to the work that we do in EdTeKLA and should show your creativity. It does not need to fit within an existing project but it should relate to our larger goals. We want to see research proposals that present new ideas. So, you should envision applications that could change how people learn, and then think about how you would approach developing a proof of concept for your idea.
Just as it takes you time to prepare these materials, it can take us some time to review them. So, wait a while and ping me again if I have not replied within a business week. Do not send emails to others to request an update.
Your email should be polite and addressed to Carrie.

Undergraduate Students

I strongly recommend you to take my HCI class beforehand. This will give you some insight into the kind of a person that I am and what I expect from students.

To explore this possibility, email Carrie a copy of your transcripts (unofficial are fine) and resume/CV. Your email should clearly state whether you are interested in a software development or research opportunity, and it should include the matching additional information (see below).

Software Development (Independent Studies)

Before contacting Carrie, you should review our group’s projects and indicate which are of interest to you. Alternatively, you can specify which technical skills you want to develop and we will try to match you to a project.

Note that the technologies used on projects will not be changed based on your interests.

Research (USRA/Independent Studies)

Undergrads are expected to conduct their own research projects. Members of our group and I will help you, but do not expect us to do the work for you. You will have to be proactive in coming up with ideas, work hard, learn independently, and lead your own project. You should indicate your general research interests in your initial email.

Interns, Visiting Students, & Exchange Students (Undergrads & Masters)

We currently lack the bandwidth to add junior research visitors, interns, and exchange students (generally undergrads and Masters) to our group.

If you are really serious, you are welcome to send us an email along with your resume/CV and research proposal. Your materials should clearly describe the unique contributions you could make to our group.

Visiting Researchers (PhD Students & Above)

If you are an experienced researcher (e.g., a visiting researcher, a post-doc, or a senior Ph.D. student), please email your CV and research proposal to Carrie.