PhD Reflections

What would it be like to do your PhD at the IT University of Copenhagen? Here's some thoughts from NLPnorth's very own PhD students:

Elisa Bassignana (PhD 2024)

What is it like to do your PhD at ITU?

ITU is a small university, with a very welcoming and friendly environment. It is easy to solve administrative problems by simply looking for the responsible person. At the same time, it’s also easy to meet new researchers outside of your research group (especially PhD students) at the many events that the university organizes for the employees: PhD courses and retreats, Christmas and summer parties, department retreats and monthly breakfasts. The campus is great, with all the facilities you’ll need. It is a well-funded university which makes a difference in terms of technical equipment and possibility to travel in connection to your PhD.

What is it like to live in Copenhagen as a PhD student?

Copenhagen is great! The city is vibrant with a lot of activities all year around. Despite being of a relatively small scale with respect to other European (and world-wide) cities, you still have all the advantages of being an international capital. Denmark is one of the best places for being a PhD student in terms of the proportion between living cost and salaries, therefore you’ll not have to worry about that. In addition there is a lot of attention about work-life balance making the journey much more pleasant under many aspects. Last, but very important, everybody (literally, everybody) speaks English!

What surprised you most about Denmark, vs your home country?

I was positively impressed by how safe Copenhagen is, by the cycling infrastructure which makes it possible to cycle everywhere, by the attention in maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and by how everybody is very approachable in the universities because of the flat hierarchy between students and professors.

Any tips for people starting on their PhD journey?

It will be a long journey, which most likely will not go as you initially planned. However, this should not discourage you, but rather motivate you to be ready for new challenges.

Try to be as organized as possible because it will help you in the moments when you have to pay attention to many different projects at the same time. Be ready to fail (e.g. paper rejection) and always remember that failure is part of the process, not only for PhD students, but for all academic levels. Whenever possible, at conferences and events, talk with as many researchers as possible, you’ll discover that you are not the only one facing certain challenges. And last, enjoy the journey, it will be one of the most exciting times of your career!

Max Müller-Eberstein (PhD 2024)

What is it like to do your PhD at ITU?

ITU is a microcosm of its own, since it is the newest, smallest, and most specialized university in Denmark. This makes it an exceptionally cozy environment to work, and complete your PhD in. While at other institutions, you are often left alone to figure things out, at ITU, you can easily walk up to the responsible person to get help—and people are very helpful around here. At the same time, it's very easy to start something new, as there are fewer bureaucratic hurdles to jump over. Of course, it depends on your preferences, but for me, it was genuinely the best possible place to complete a PhD.

What is it like to live in Copenhagen as a PhD student?

Copenhagen is a great place to pursue a PhD in NLP: There are multiple top-tier research groups working on a diverse set of topics, and there is ample opportunity to mingle. Despite the higher costs of living, PhDs are paid well, such that it's easier to focus on your actual research. Outside of work, Copenhagen as a city has lots to offer. For me personally, the food and coffee scene are particularly fun to explore.

What surprised you most about Denmark, vs your home country?

A lot of emphasis is placed on work-life balance in Denmark. This does not mean that people are less driven, but that they want to achieve their goals in a supportive environment. While this isn't too much of a stretch, few cultures put as much effort into actively and collectively maintining such an environment as here. The key here is awareness and reciprocity, which is made easier by the relatively flat hierarchies, also mentioned by my colleagues.

Any tips for people starting on their PhD journey?

Aim for a balance between the finer details and the bigger picture. As your PhD progresses, you will become an expert in an extremely specialized area. Occaisionally taking a step back to review the larger trends beyond your field can be very helpful for guiding longer term planning, and can put acute problems, which seem insurmountable now, into perspective. There's lot's of cool stuff going on out there!

The same goes for work that is not directly related to your research: E.g., some forms and deadlines may not be as important as they pretend to be; overthinking which new tools to use may not be as important as having an overall routine that works for you.

Finally, take breaks and go for walks.

Dennis Ulmer (PhD 2024)

What is it like to do your PhD at ITU?

It is generally very nice! You get a very good salary as a PhD, there is a general strong culture for work-life balance and the university is well-funded, so you have access to technical equipment (reaching from a laptop and dongles to a podcasting and video recording studio), and an additional budget for books and other expenses.

While the university is smaller than previous places I studied at, I thought that also created a very cozy atmosphere and lots of opportunity to meet people working on different topics or departments. It also is a very modern and cool building.

What is it like to live in Copenhagen as a PhD student?

Academically, Copenhagen is a very cool place. There are multiple universities, many of which have groups working on machine learning or NLP. Through the Pioneer Centre for Artificial Intelligence you also have an opportunity to meet many other PhD students and researchers alike.

Otherwise, Copenhagen is also a very cool place. While winters and the weather can sometimes be a bit tough, the summers are absolutely beautiful. The city is large enough to have many interesting places and events to explore, but small enough to not be too overwhelming or busy. It also has excellent and modern public transportation and bike infrastructure.

What surprised you most about Denmark, vs your home country?

I am from (southern) Germany, so the strong winds and darkness in the winter threw me off at first. On the flipside, you get an absolutely wonderful summer, where temperature are rarely too hot and there is light until very late in the evening. So, over time, Copenhagen really grew on me.

Other than that, I was positively surprised by the strong work-life balance, flat hierarchies and general comfort of life. I do genuinely believe that this might one of the best places in the world to do a PhD, in combination with the other reasons above.

Any tips for people starting on their PhD journey?

I think a lot of these things have been said before, but:
It's a marathon, not a sprint. It will be a rollercoaster in any way, so celebrate the successes. Things might not work out for no fault of your own, for instance a good idea not working in practice or your paper getting rejected due to the reviewing lottery. That's okay, keep trying. Working more than a certain amount has diminishing returns, so don't forget to rest and spend time on friends and hobbies.

Organizationally: A lot of your PhD is about self-organization and project management. Learn how to work in a structured way, invest time where it's most effective and take calculated risks. Also, use something like Obsidian and Zotero to manage your papers and notes early!