How to save the world and forward your career in 5 easy steps | Women in NLP Talks

Sabine Now: Non-Research Related Activities During PhD

In this talk, Sabine Now discusses the importance of non-research related activities during a PhD program and how they can help with career development. She also talks about the impact of holding marginalized identities in a work environment.

Imposter Syndrome

• Sabine shares a story about a professor who gave a talk on imposter syndrome.

• The professor talked about feeling like an imposter despite her accomplishments.

• A comment from an audience member highlights the importance of representation in feeling like you belong in a workspace.

Marginalized Identities

• Sabine discusses how individuals hold different identities that can award them power or privilege, but can also be used against them to discriminate.

• She talks about the challenges of holding marginalized identities in a hostile work environment or even in a minority position.

• However, she notes that these experiences provide insight into where systems fail and do not work properly.

Importance of Non-Research Related Activities

• Sabine emphasizes the importance of non-research related activities during PhD programs for career development.

• She shares examples such as attending conferences, organizing events, and participating in outreach programs.

• These activities can help develop skills such as communication, networking, and leadership that are valuable for future careers.

Conclusion

Sabine concludes by encouraging individuals to embrace their diverse identities and use their experiences to make positive changes in their workplaces. She also encourages individuals to participate in non-research related activities during their PhD programs to develop valuable skills for their future careers.

Combining Insights and Power as an NLP

In this section, the speaker talks about how to combine insights gained from facing barriers with the power that comes with being an NLP. The speaker emphasizes that marginalized individuals should not have to try harder or do more than their peers.

Marginalized Identities in Hostile Spaces

• Holding a marginalized identity in a hostile space is a huge effort.

• Combining insights gained from facing barriers with the power of being an NLP can move things forward.

• Everyone deserves respect and appreciation regardless of their identity.

Outreach

• Outreach involves talking about your expertise to audiences outside of your field.

• Doing outreach can raise awareness for important issues and help break down barriers in people's minds.

• Doing outreach helps build confidence and learn how to explain research to different audiences.

Resources for Outreach

• Bright Club, Pi Data, and arts projects are great places to start doing outreach.

Other Forms of Outreach

In this section, the speaker discusses other forms of outreach that can be done beyond traditional presentations.

Grassroots Organizations in NLP

• Grassroots organizations provide opportunities for networking and collaboration within the NLP community.

• Examples include WiNLP (Women in Natural Language Processing), Queer in AI, Black in AI, LatinX in AI, etc.

Starting Something New

• If something you want doesn't exist yet, start it yourself!

• Starting something new requires finding like-minded individuals who share your vision and passion.

• The speaker shares her experience starting Queer in AI.

Mentoring

In this section, the speaker talks about the importance of mentoring and how to be an effective mentor.

Importance of Mentoring

• Mentoring is important for providing guidance and support to individuals who may face barriers in their field.

• Effective mentoring can help build confidence, provide networking opportunities, and offer advice on navigating difficult situations.

How to Be an Effective Mentor

• Effective mentors should actively listen, provide constructive feedback, and offer support.

• Mentors should also be aware of power dynamics and strive to create a safe space for mentees.

• The speaker shares her experience as a mentor in WiNLP.

Science Education for a Broad Audience

In this section, the speaker talks about mentorship and how it can be helpful in navigating career goals and obstacles. The speaker shares their experience with both being a mentor and having a mentor.

Mentorship

• Mentorship is teaming up with someone who is either more advanced or less advanced along a career line that we want to take.

• Mentorship can help navigate the problem of not having role models or representation in your immediate surroundings.

• Mentorship relationships could work as whisper networks to flag abusive supervisors or workplace situations.

• Resources for finding a mentor or mentee include university careers offices, STEM societies, alumni networks, and grassroots organizations.

Affinity Groups and Grassroots Organizations

In this section, the speaker talks about affinity groups and grassroots organizations as good sources to find mentors.

Affinity Groups and Grassroots Organizations

• Affinity groups and grassroots organizations are volunteer-run organizations like queer NLP that can provide opportunities for networking and finding mentors.

Joining Grassroot Organizations for Diversity and Inclusion

This section discusses the benefits of joining grassroot organizations for diversity and inclusion, such as QueerN AI, Black in AI, Latinx in AI, and Mazakhana. These organizations provide resources, mentorship opportunities, and a worldwide network of researchers with similar interests.

Benefits of Joining Grassroot Organizations

• Grassroot organizations give more power to important issues.

• Advocating as an organization can exert the power needed to make large journal publishing companies much more accessible for people who want to change their names.

• It is easier to access resources by reaching out to companies as an organization rather than as individuals.

• A great source of role models or mentorship because 80% of members don't have role models in their immediate environment.

• Having a worldwide network of queer AI researchers allows you to find somebody who has similar interests and identity and team up with them to be your mentor or collaborator.

Resources Provided by QueerN AI

• Mailing list where people can share job postings, summer schools or other projects they're working on.

• Dedicated undergrad mentorship program

• Program for financial support for grad school application

• Conference socials where we sponsor conference attendance for people.

Other Affinity Groups

• There are different affinity groups or grassroot organizations that exist at the moment like East European Machine Learning or Southeast Asian Machine Learning.

• Other organizations include OSTeMP (for queer people in the sciences and engineering), Black in AI, Latinx in AI, Women in Machine Learning, Widening NLP (for marginalized identities in NLP), Black Women NAI, and Disability and AI.

• Allies are welcome to join these organizations because we need to fight this fight together.

What to Do If Your Needs Are Not Met

• There may not be an affinity group that covers your identity or research interest.

• Create your own affinity group or meet up.

Coping with Seasonal Affective Disorder

In this section, the speaker talks about how she coped with seasonal affective disorder when she moved to Edinburgh. She found that making art with people and community helped her cope.

Making Art as a Coping Mechanism

• The speaker struggled with seasonal affective disorder when she moved to Edinburgh.

• Making art with people and community helped her cope.

• The speaker and a friend applied for funds to organize social events for people who work in computer science.

• They bought art supplies and set up a weekly gathering where anyone could come and make art together.

Starting Something from Scratch

In this section, the speaker talks about starting something from scratch. She provides tips on where to turn for resources if you want to start something new.

Resources for Starting Something New

• You can start things without extra funds by reaching out via mailing lists or social media.

• If you need funding, reach out to your grad school office or other offices in charge of social events at your school.

• For marginalized identities, reach out to local non-profits that have something to do with that identity.

• Company sponsorship is also an option, especially if it's related to computer science or NLP industry.

• Affinity groups are another great place to get funding from if you have a specific idea that fits their mission.

Importance of Unique Insights and Powers in AI

The speaker emphasizes the importance of combining unique insights and powers to make the world a better place.

Combining Unique Insights and Powers

• The combination of unique insights and powers can lead to great things.

• Putting these things together can make the world a better place.

Importance of Diversity in AI

The speaker discusses the importance of diversity in AI, particularly for minorities.

Challenges Faced by Women in Computing Science

• Women are often looked at as less competent in academia and computing science.

• Comments from lecturers or colleagues can be hurtful and contribute to low self-worth.

• It is difficult to know how to react when faced with such situations.

Dealing with Toxic Workplaces

• Leaving a toxic workplace may be necessary for mental health.

• Finding other areas where you feel competent can help improve your mental health.

• It's important to be clear about how much you can take before walking away.

Importance of Mentorship

• Mentorship is important but not always easy to find.

• Peer-to-peer mentorship with friends or colleagues can be helpful.

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Tips for Sustaining Interest in Group Activities

In this section, the speaker provides advice on how to keep group activities going and sustain interest.

Consistency is Key

• Consistency is important in keeping group activities going.

• Advertise regularly and consistently.

• Find different channels to advertise the activity.

Core Group of Motivated Members

• Having a core group of motivated members helps sustain interest.

• More than one or two people should be part of the core group.

NLP Roadmap

The speaker discusses their non-linear path towards researching NLP and provides advice on how to approach it.

Non-linear Path

• The speaker's path towards researching NLP was non-linear and random.

No Clear Trajectory

• The speaker did not have a clear trajectory towards their current position.

Advice for Approaching NLP Research

• There are many ways to approach NLP research.

• It is important to find what interests you within the field.

Tips for Getting Started in NLP

In this section, the speaker provides tips on how to get started in natural language processing (NLP).

Take Relevant Courses

• Take courses offered by your university that are relevant to NLP.

• Check out online resources such as the Stanford NLP course on machine learning for natural language processing.

Do Internships and Join Affinity Groups

• Do internships to gain experience and figure out which area of NLP interests you most.

• Join affinity groups like Masakhane, which focuses on low-resource machine translation and other low-resource NLP applications. They have a cool Slack channel and weekly meetups where they discuss projects.

Work on Cool Projects

• Work on coding projects related to NLP in your free time. This can be a great way to build up your portfolio when applying for jobs.

• Masakhane is a good place to start because people there are incredibly nice and enthusiastic about anyone who can help them with things.