IS2011 Student Event Report : ASR - Signal Processing

The Students Meet Seniors lunch provided an opportunity for students
to meet and talk with some industry/research experts over a casual
lunch. Specifically, my table had Prof. Abeer Alwan from the Speech
Processing and Auditory Perception Laboratory at UCLA in the USA, as
well as Dr. Maurizio Omologo from the Speech-acoustic Scene Analysis
and Interpretation Group at Fondazione Bruno Kessler in Italy. This
proved to be a great chance for us students to informally talk about
our research and future career paths.

The contrast between the two chosen experts between their fields of
work was an interesting aspect of the conversation; it provided all of
us students the opportunity to talk to a academic, as well as a
researcher. This always proves fruitful when considering future
endeavours beyond university studies. Prof. Alwan took her time to ask
us all about our research topics, and also offered her advice and
referred us to some of her students' past work where relevant.
Similarly, Dr. Omologo also made a concerted effort to talk to us all;
he also recommended us where possible to talk to his fellow colleagues
at the conference, and also took a special interest in topics that he
could offer his knowledge.

The benefits of attending the Students Meet Seniors lunch extend
beyond just the time spent at the event; it has given me (and other
students I am sure) a greater sense of direction for my research, as
well as provided the opportunity to network with important people in
my discipline. The opportunity to explain my work also enhanced my own
comprehension of my work, as I'm sure other students also discovered.
It has also facilitated the path towards meeting more people in my
area; which will ultimately play a contributory role towards my
decision for my future chosen career/research path.

Report written by Ingrid Jafari